Reflection

Interracial dating and intermarriage is a growing trend in the United States

with 4.8 million marriages being interracial in the year 2012. Though this fad is

climbing intensely, there are still many people who do not agree with this trend,

which makes it difficult for individuals involved in interracial relationships to enjoy

time spent with their partner. So, I decided to research the many different issues

interracial couples deal with in relation to race, gender, and age. Because racism is

still alive and relevant today, I decided to reach bigots as well as people involved in

interracial relationships. I chose bigots because, racism exists because of history,

and it is also taught. So I figured, if you can be taught racism, you can also be taught

to accept others of different races. Interracial relationships require much more

understanding and acceptance. I also decided to target “interracial daters” because I

feel that it is important for this community to empower each other, and to be

exposed to what other couples go through. It always feels good to know that you are

not alone and that other people have been in your shoes.

I believe that the newspaper/online news article is effective because it is a

very popular way to talk about current events as well as to pass on information.

Newspapers have been along for decades, and although, technology has grown

tremendously, news is everywhere and it is a great way to reach the people of

America.

The Race Card is a very unique website that I found out about from a close

friend. Created by Michele Norris, an American Journalist and News Reporter.

Norris used her brilliant ideas to create The Race Card Project in 2010, which “helps

foster a candid dialogue about race.” Norris states: “I asked people to think about

their experiences, questions, hopes, dreams, laments or observations about race and

identity. Then, I asked that they take those thoughts and distill them to just one

sentence that had only six words…. dozens of those little postcards started arriving

in the mail every week and bit by bit, more and more of those little six-word

“essays” piled up in my inbox from all over the country, and then amazingly from all

over the world.  I’ve heard from people in Australia, Afghanistan, London, Chile,

Belgium, South Korea and Abu Dhabi.” The Race Card Project immediately sparked

my interest and I decided to create a mock version of the website. I thought, “What

better way to include my interviews, than to merge them into the RCP format?”

These genres, especially the newspaper, exist all around us. Whether it be

magazine articles, newspapers, e-Newspapers/online articles. Print media can be

found just about anywhere and are readily available everyday. The Race Card

Project can be found online and it can be accessed through a computer, mobile

phone, tablet, etc. It can be found at: http://theracecardproject.com/the-race-card-

project-wall/.

For my modes of communication, I decided to go with a more visual and

textual approach. I found that pictures and actual stories from involved interracial

couples would be extremely beneficial. This brings me to Aristotle’s appeals, which I

happened to use more of an ethical approach because my research was more of an

emotional issue for me. Since I am involved in an interracial relationship, this topic

really hit home for me, which is why I felt that I should go that route. If a person

does not feel any emotion or any type of sympathy for a teenager who’s father says

they will not attend their wedding, is honestly, heartless. Although, I mostly used

ethos, I also made sure to add many facts about the growing fad. Which is where

logos come in to play. For example, I stated in one of my articles, “According to Pew

Research, 43% of Americans say that more individuals of different races marrying

or dating each other has been a change for the better in our society.” With that

information, a person can infer that not only am I passionate about what I am

researching, but I am also knowledgeable and have valid information.

This topic is serious to many people and others need to become more aware

of the severity of this trend. Having actual individuals tell their stories will help get

my message across. This community is growing, and with more support, people can

marry and live in multi-cultural relationships with little to no hate from others. I

believe that these genres will be effective to my target audience because many of my

information come from real people, with real stories.

All in all, I had a blast researching this topic. I never knew that other people

my age went through the same things I go through with my partner. This really

opened my eyes as an interracial dater, and I hope it can open other people’s eyes,

whether they are bigots, or people just like me.