Often times the picture painted of the multiracial family is one replete of doom and gloom. Interracial couples entering into marriage are aware that they may face unique challenges that mono-racial couples do not experience. Racism continues to be alive and well in our nation and when it comes to miscegenation this seems to annoy some people at an even greater level. Interracial couples must also consider the impact ignorant views have on their children. They have to strengthen their families to ensure their children are prepared and empowered to deal with judgmental perceptions about their identity.

Despite the different challenges multiracial families may experience, the vast tales of the mixed race family
aren’t drenched with grim. Quite the contrary. There is great strength in the multiracial family and some of these strengths are:

1) Miscegenation helps to rid racial stereotypes of the individuals in the union.
2) Parents of multiracial families are more like to teach diversity and how to treat people who are
different from themselves.
3) Parents of multiracial children make greater effort to expose their children
to both cultures and to preserve both heritages.

Miscegenation enables the couple to uproot racial misconceptions each person may have of the opposite race. Racial stereotypes are perpetuated because people refuse to venture out of their racial comfort zone to explore the point of views of other races. In a interracial marriage, it’s imperative that each person examine and dismantling inaccurate opinions in order to maintain a unified body. I am black and my husband is Caucasian. I can remember a time I made an inappropriate joke about Caucasians to my husband. I took it for granted that even though he is my husband, we are of different races and therefore he might not appreciate a joke about his race. I’ve made this same joke about Caucasians to my African American
friends and all of us enjoyed a hardy laugh. However, after delivering the joke to my husband, his face became very serious. For the first time, I was forced to consider how my joke unfairly depicted Caucasians and most importantly how it unfairly depicted him. This experience has happened on both sides of our marriage and it has allowed us to expand our understanding of the other person’s point of view. We are far more cognizant of racial stereotypes and how they damage our marital harmony.

Multiracial families have a greater appreciate of diversity since this construct is the foundation
of their families. In the home, children of multiracial families are continuously being exposed to diversity
and are, themselves, diverse. Hence, early on they are learning the beauty of diversity and celebrating it.
Moreover, interracial couples teach their multiracial children the importance of racial tolerance and their
children see this played out in the home. Lastly, it is common that multiracial families are inspired
to live in an mixed environment. Living in diverse communities further encourages multiracial children to have a broader world view.

Many multiracial families aren’t just a unique mixture of races. They are also a beautiful blend of cultures and heritages. America was built on an eclectic mixture of heritages and multiracial families add to her vast melting pot. Children, by nature, are curious about how they are connected to their parents. At times, this may be challenging for multiracial children aren’t able to see their own image reflected in either of their parents. When parents of multiracial children share their culture and heritage it helps develop self pride in their identity. By developing this cultural awareness in their children, interracial couples creates future generations who pass on and celebrate their parents’ rich cultural legacy.

Ana Gazawi has a Bachelor degree in the Business Field and she resides in South Florida with her multiracial/multicultural family. She works at home as a freelance writer and blogger. As an an adoptee to an American family who grew up in Haiti, she has a passion for trans-racial adoption issues and topics. Some of her other interests are philanthropy, multicultural awareness and green living. You can find her musings about her life and interests at www.quiskaeya.com.