Stephen Chapman’s column on black/white interracial marriage, “Amid the debris of the Simpson case, a sign of hope” (June 26), is a prime example why newspapers that put themselves forward as “balanced” communicators ought to make serious efforts to present variegated opinion where issues of core importance to black people are being discussed.
Chapman sees interracial marriage as “progress.” And he implies that aversion to such marriages is a sign of bigotry. One wonders whether he considers interfaith marriages between Jews and Catholics in such a light? I think Chapman will find that a lot of blacks have substantial unease about black/white marriages for many practical reasons-not bigotry.
Chapman notes that even with the more tolerant attitudes toward interracial marriages, such pairings are a small fraction; but it is which blacks who participate proportionally the most in such marriages that concerns African-Americans. The highest-paid and educated blacks do it the most. Black males more than females.
Analytical eyes turn away from examining the impact of interracial marriages. Wouldn’t it be intriguing if one of the most important byproducts of the O.J. Simpson affair would be some deeper examination of black/white interracial marriage as it impacts on African-Americans?
