April 21, 2005

When someone tells 4-year-old Hanna she looks like her black father, she throws a fit. She wants to look like her mom -- she's white.

Junior sociology major Rosilyn Hall, from Clifton, said she has witnessed the "problems" of interracial marriage through her niece, Hanna. She said Hanna's mother will go as far as straightening her daughter's hair and keeping her out of the sun to make her look white. It has also been hurtful for her to see her grandparents treat Hanna as though she was "more special" than the other family members who look more black.

Hall said it's hard for biracial children to understand both their parents' cultures and be proud of their ethnic background.

"[Biracial] people lose themselves," Hall said. "They lose a sense of who they are and what they are."

Psychology education professor Dr. Elizabeth D. Palacios said biracial children need a lot of support and acceptance within the family. She said if children with parents of different ethnicities are accepted for who they are, they can become strong persons with "the richness of two cultures."

Biracial children raised with the idea that one of their parents is superior to the other can feel forced to choose between the cultures and run into problems if they aren't embraced by either group, she said.

According to Palacios, research shows that by 2050 racial lines and skin color won't be an issue because there will be so much blending of races.

She said it's important for someone marrying a person of a different race to understand their fiancé's culture, but they should keep in mind they are marrying an individual and not a culture, because everyone is different.

Byna Whitlock, a sophomore from North Richland Hills, said although cases vary, she found that it was difficult for her parents to raise biracial children.

She said her parents often disagreed on how to raise her and her sister. Her Korean mom, for instance, demanded a lot more from them academically. She also emphasized the importance of family name. Her white dad, on the other hand, showed the daughters the importance of achieving their personal dreams and was more focused on individualism.

"I grew up in two separate cultures," Whitlock said. "It was hard to ingest because one person is trying to raise you on one set of standards and the other on a different set of standards."

She said she felt like she had to pick a culture to which she wanted to belong. She ended up feeling more at home in the white culture because she was raised in America. Despite these setbacks, Whitlock said being biracial has helped keep her from becoming ethnocentric and has made her "open-minded."

Elird Bojaxhi, a Houston senior who is white, said he thinks it would be great to have biracial kids in the future and doesn't think they would have an identity problem.

"I don't think the issue of being Asian or white or Hispanic or black is identity as in you have to belong to your own sect," Bojaxhi said. "I really don't view it that way. To me, identity is what kind of person you are."