Bonnie Farris
Jour 102
Final Paper
Multi-Media Project
Diversity isn’t something many people notice across the University of Mississippi’s beautiful campus. Most who attend Ole Miss will say it is heavily populated with over indulged white kids, and that it is very rare to see students in an interracial relationship.
For generations here in the deepest South, there had been a great taboo: publicly crossing the color line for love. Less than 45 years ago, marriage between blacks and whites was illegal, and it has been frowned upon for much of the time since. Mixed-race population is growing far more quickly, particularly in the South.
“Racial attitudes are changing,” said Marvin King, a professor of political science at the University of Mississippi who is black, married to a white woman, and the father of a 2-year-old biracial daughter. “There is certainly not the hostility there was years ago.”
Interracial relationships are more and more publicized in the media. Famous couples like Seal and Heidi Klum, Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom, and Cuba Gooding and his white wife, Sarah Gooding see no color barrier. This type of publication makes interracial relationships less scandalous, especially in this generation.
“I was raised in the south so interracial relationships haven’t really affected me, I’ve been raised to be civilized as an American.” Said Karli Valenzuela, Chilean, sophomore at Ole Miss.
“We get some looks on campus, but not really a lot and none of my friends ever call me out on dating a Chilean girl, just my parents.” said Jonathan Moose, white, freshman at Ole Miss.
Moose and Valenzuela have been dating for 5 months now and don’t plan on breaking-up anytime soon. They both agree it doesn’t matter what race you are, and that students have to recognize that Ole Miss is not a highly diverse University.
It’s imperative to help our students understand how important it is to honor diversity. It is important to not only accept, but to celebrate our differences.
Mississippi has seen a 70% increase in multiracial population over the last ten years. States such as North Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee and some midwestern states have seen a 70 -80% increase in their multiracial population over the last decades.
Only time will tell if Ole Miss becomes more diverse and interracial relationships become more accepted. Our generation doesn’t seem to judge too harshly when it comes to interracial couples.
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