this is my contribution :

[knowbody0]

Meet my multi-racial family! My three adoptees in the front are Hispanic siblings I had fostered for 2 years, behind them - me with the big hair, family friend, and biological Irish Indian daughter. That dude is the judge and that was adoption day 9 years ago. I also have two adult sons and a red headed grandson.

Yep, we are really colorful. Discrimination? We usually end up laughing at it. Can a white mother love a dark child? Can a dark child love a white mother? Absolutely. I am blessed.

[Samurai_Writer]

1. Great looking family!

I think multi-racial families are getting more and more prevalant. When I was a kid (back in the dark ages), you rarely saw multi-cultural families. Heck, I didn't even MEET a non-white person until I was 14 years old. Now, I have Chinese nieces, a black boyfriend, jewish grandparents, and found out through geneaology research that I'm israeli, german, irish, welsh, north african, and cherokee -- instead of the german, irish and welsh I thought I was.

Someday multi-racial families will be the norm and no one will make a big deal about it. Hopefully, that day will be coming soon.

[bliss_eternal]

3. I hope so, too RadFem...

because I'm getting so tired of all the divisions in society. Which isn't to say the divisions won't exist any longer, but at least it will be harder to know who is what and put people in "little boxes." I got really tired of the "what are you" question growing up...

Hope that you and your bf are happy together and all goes well with your relationship! I can't help it, seeing other IR couples still tickles me! :loveya:

[Samurai_Writer]

4. What are you? question!

I got that ALL the time -- I'm olive-complected with dark hair and eyes. Didn't look anything like anyone in my family when I was growing up. I've been mistaken for a hispanic, native american, italian, creole, etc. I usually just told people "I'm human, what are you?"

And thanks for the good wishes with the boyfriend! We've only been dating two months, but it's going really well. And he is soooo handsome and intelligent and caring! *swoons* *fans herself* Ahem...

[bliss_eternal]

5. So happy to hear

the relationship is going well! ;) Sounds like you've found yourself a great guy. He's pretty damned lucky to have found you, too!

We olive women have it tough. I have a gf that is my complexion. We frequently commiserate about this issue. LOL! She's the light skinned anomaly in her family and is teased mercilessly for it, as I was in mine.

[kwassa]

6. one thing many whites don't realize

is that within one black family, with two black parents, that the skin tones of the children can vary widely, and be lighter or darker than either of the parents. All that other stuff that's mixed in with African-Americans. Also, the notion of what is light-skinned is pretty broad, too.

I also see many more multiracial families around as the years go by. It seems to be far more acceptable now than it has been. Many of the parents I know who are adopting are whites adopting other races or ethnicities.

[bliss_eternal]

7. Excellent point, kwassa...

:hi: You can always tell someone that has little experience or knowledge of AA culture (i.e. close friendships, living in diverse communities, study through school, observant, etc.). People that don't have such prior knowledge or experience tend to make many sweeping and blanketed assumptions about what an African American should look like.

For example, a woman was looking at my wedding album and saw one of my cousins and said, "...oh, that's not african american hair." :eyes: As if there's only ONE type of AA hair. Of course, I had to EXPLAIN this.

I wish I could say that such assumptions were isolated to caucasians but they are not. I've met many blacks over the years that don't get that our culture is diverse and we can look a mulitude of ways, and have a broad spectrum of features (i.e. various shades and hues of skin color, hair textures, eye colors, facial feature shapes, etc.). The assumption is always one must be mixed, biracial, etc. if they don't fall into what the general standard is of looking African American.

[bliss_eternal]

2. So beautiful, knowbody...!

Thanks so much for sharing these!

I recall a woman I worked with once. She was Caucasian but had a thing for brown skin. :shrug: Seriously, she was so sad when her baby was born, saying he was so pale. :wow: Um, duh--she was pale--so was her husband--what did she expect?

Anyway, it seemed enivatable that eventually she would--but last I heard she had adopted a little brown baby and was very much in love with her child and family. She hopes to adopt more.

What can I say, you really can't pick who or what you love can you?

In this woman's case a white mother most certainly will love a dark child and I'm sure that child loves her very much! :loveya: