Ironically enough, yesterday in another one of my women's studies classes (Gender, Health and Cross Cultural Perspectives) somehow we found ourselves discussing interracial dating and many members of my class were offended and felt that Black men who are leaders in our community that date, marry, love white women loose creditability within the community but because Black women rarely date white men its ok because there reasons are easier to justify. Why is it so difficult for some people to understand that love is complicated and it doesn't know races or religions or genders, and that's the beauty of it. I have spent my entire life dealing with race and hearing that I am too white or I'm not black enough and because I am biracial my experiences of being a Black woman are always challenged and critiqued. It becomes frustrating at times when I can't be taken seriously by some of my fellow Spelman sisters because I grew up in a different envioronment, or I have a different texture of hair or because my father's family is not from this country and I feel like I am often discredited. In all truths I am still discriminated against, the only difference is that I experience oppression not only from Whites but from Blacks as well. I think that was the hardest thing to swallow for Kenya; her friends and family didn't respect her decision to date outside of her race, they disapproved and joked about it, so no matter how much she loved Brian or how understanding he was, at the end of the day she still had to here from the people she loved and trusted that she was making a mistake. I remember being in highschool and the Black side of my family totally disapproving of my decision to date a White guy and I was so confused because I thought it would be ok since I was mixed, that situation made me question my identity for years and my family still has a problem with me dating outside of my "race"? WHAT RACE? What race do I belong to? After all of our struggles with civil rights and after we've come such a distance why does race still play such a major issue in our lives?