Any Black Person That Dates Outside Their Race is a Sellout


By: Priscilla Rogers

“So, you’d really date a white guy?” I was asked this question that I never gave much thought to while on the 2-train heading back to Brooklyn from Manhattan.

Revisiting one of my favorite films, a classic that is Save the Last Dance, is the best way to put that question into perspective.

The movie follows the high school relationship dynamic between Sara, a Caucasian, and Derek, a Black young man, as they attempt move forward through stereotypes and stigmas of interracial dating.

One person that did not agree with the relationship was Derek’s sister Chenille, played by Kerry Washington. Her thought process was along the lines of white women are already privileged and can get just about anything they want but why do they want to take black men as well.

The movie was released in 2001 but, research proves just how realistic fiction can be.

The study, “Interracial Dating: An Investigation of the Inconsistencies in Personal and General Attitudes” consisted of 144 participants, 36 men and 108 women. Of the 144 participants, 131 were white while 13 were African American. Although the United States is very diverse, the study analyzed personal attitudes toward the idea of interracial dating.

Per the study, the results indicate that differences in people’s personal attitudes toward interracial dating may be due in part to their levels of symbolic and aversive racism.

The findings aren’t news to me.

As a Black woman, I’d be lying if I say I didn’t have thoughts when I saw a black man—average or well-known—dating outside his race and wonder “is it really love?”

Though I know some do it for inauthentic reasons – mixed kids, believing that white women are more submissive,—others genuinely can’t help who they fall in love with.

An issue that arises often is the argument of being a “sell out”, that somehow, dating outside your race means you’ve forgotten about the community.  

The idea that dating someone outside of your races make you any less black is insane. I will always be pro-black, stand and speak up for what is right – regardless of who I am with.

So, my response to the question?

Chocolate is probably my favorite thing ever; milk, dark, and yes, white too.

I’d give my time whomever possess what I’m looking for. Connection and values surpasses skin color.

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