Race and love

Race, love, and The South

I grew up the south, so I can relate to the story of Yun. White women were praised and held high and women of color were considered less than. I remember the black girls at my high school getting mad at my black best friend, who was also the football captain, for having all white girlfriends in high school. He was ostracized for it, but all of us understood. The black girls at our school were less than lady like so honestly it wasn’t us, it was them. Even my first love was a white girl, decent social standing and highly educated. I thought I just had a thing for white girls but I found out that Mrs. Chandler may have had a point. Its not about race but about grace..

In the culture of my hometown, it is easy for a person like me to over look the Black, Asian, Latino, and Arab girls. the white woman was sought after. It wasn’t ’til I met a girl, who is still a close friend till this day, that i realized that it was about grace. Years later, I find myself mostly attracted to a intelligent and graceful girl regardless of race. But as i go back to my hometown i do not often feel this attraction to most of the girls I meet. Grace is lost on most downtrodden minorities.

Mostly what i remember from my past was being different. Not white not black not Mexican or Asian, just different. And they are not considered Hispanic or Latino, just Mexican. Everyone whether they realized it or not was trying to fit into the picture without sticking out. I would get pulled over just because there weren’t any white people in the car. My best friend saw this, noticed the hate that is hidden beneath the surface, and felt as though he needed to mold into the melting pot that is The South. Today he is engaged to a white girl and three of his six brothers married white woman. I am not saying that these men just married these women because they were white, there is no doubt they do love their spouses. all i am saying is that it played more of an impact in the back of their mind that they thought it did. The most praised child in their next generation is the black skinned, blonde haired, blue eyed son, which also makes me wonder.

After coming to Emory I realized that the social pressures and prejudices that surrounded me growing up did not have to define my personal opinion on beauty as it relates to race Before, it seemed as though I should strive to find a woman of grace, which typically was only found with a white woman. After various experiences, however, I realized that beauty is unique to the person, and their own personality and characteristics should be the main criteria when judging a woman’s attractiveness. I should not subject myself to the same racism, bias, and bigotry that has plagued us minorities. The internal hate is greater than the external hate, and that is the true tragedy.