Interracial Marriage

[Janet Kimetto]

It's totally acceptable. People in interracial relationships today wouldn't go through what Maureen and Jamal went through, but they might still face hardships depending on where they live. The heart wants what the heart wants anyway, so I believe love is worth fighting for, wherever it's found.

[Nathaniel Owolabi]

Kalayla is biracial. What's your viewpoint on interracial marriages, especially in the present day? Do you think it's acceptable? Could it have contributed to the painful experiences that Kalayla goes through?

I think not only should being biracial be acceptable in all communities, it should be viewed as an important part of building unity in the society. My honest opinion is that parents who are of different races are doing a great job and we all know that mixing of genes is pretty good for the survival of any species. But not just that, they also unite people of different races. Having mentioned this, I should also mention the fact that I find it absurd that most American biracial individuals are referred to as blacks but are never called whites. I think they should be able to identify with both races. It just speaks a lot of how the American racial divisive past still have influence on their present. No offense.

[Kira Bonita Reece]

Interracial marriage is more accepted now than in the past. People are now seeing beyond skin color and racial back ground and I think that is a good think. Love should matter in a marriage over race

[Linda S 1]

I believe that marriage is something dependent on the bond between two souls. It requires love in its purest form to build a strong foundation for marriage. And it doesn't depend on race, caste, nationality or gender. We're all humans with feelings and deeper understandings. And with increasing awareness and acceptance the world is becoming a better place.

[Oyster]

Why shouldn't interracial marriages be acceptable? We should learn to look past skin color and focus on the character of people. It breaks my heart that in this age,people are still bothered by flimsy and unimportant things like skin color and race.

We are all humans and we should never forget that

[Neshboy Aburi]

Kalayla is biracial. What's your viewpoint on interracial marriages, especially in the present day? Do you think it's acceptable? Could it have contributed to the painful experiences that Kalayla goes through?

I don't think nowadays interracial marriages are as controversial as what is portrayed in this book. In the present day I don't think Kalayla would have had the problems integrating into the community as she did here.

[Koeech]

It could be more of a societal construct . When people are used to things being a certain way ,changing the norm can be an uphill task. Interracial marriages are nowadays acceptable but still faces numerous challenges . If the social constructs change for the better, probably we will have different views and opinions. In Kalayla's case, there are a lot of factors that contributed to her painful experiences. It's not just the fact that she is biracial.

[Kerry Limat]

Looking at this from a general lens, I would say that it is way more acceptable today compared to 20 years ago.

Personally, I do not see why it should ever be frowned upon. It it ever was beats me. It has no adverse effect on the health or genes of the parties involved and their kids. So by all means, people hoping to get married to a different race should go ahead as long as the union is good and mutual.

Again, I believe that the marriage between Kalayla's parents contributed a great deal to her suffering or problems in the book. That was also expected to be honest.

[Nikhila Kulkarni]

Interracial marriages are definitely more acceptable now and they should be. I believe Kalayla's most hurtful moments were the result of racism. Her mother wouldn't have lied if she wasn't disowned. She would have had more people around while growing up and Maureen could have used their help to raise her daughter. However, that wasn't the only contributing factor.

[J Edwards]

I think today's society has moved away from the racial discrimination of the 60s and 70s when this story was set. Nowadays, people are more accomodating and I think Kalayla would be more accepted into the society were she to be born in the present day.

[Prarthna]

Interracial marriages are more widespread nowadays, and society is more accepting of them than it was in the 1990s. In terms of Kalayla's painful experience, I feel her father's absence had a greater role.

[Uniter Oyando]

I believe it is much more acceptable today, compared to previous decades. As far as her difficulties go, I think they stem more from the loss of her father and becoming part of a single parent household.

I agree, I also think the part where she has to find her identity could be part of her struggles.

[19blueofficial]

I don't think Kalayla being biracial is what caused the hardship she faced. Interracial marriage is accepted, Maureen's parents are just racists. Kalayla's dad said it himself. I think Kalayla's hardship started when her father died.

[Jolaade Idowu]

Interracial marriage is widely accepted nowadays. Now very common in fact. In Kalayla's case, I think most of the challenges she faced resulted from the death of her dad, Jamal.

[Gabriella H]

I believe there is nothing wrong with inter-racial marriage. Yes, it is more acceptable today, considering people were killed for doing this in the past. Well, in the real world, it would be a huge factor in the difficulty the child faces, but in Kalayla, the author didn't sufficiently address racial issues.

We can assume that her lack of interest in making friends might have been influenced by some level of discrimination she had faced. However, in this particular novel, I don't believe her being inter-racial was a cause of the difficulties she faced, as we weren't really told anything about her being discriminated against, except by her grandparents.