Section A·Page 8
The University Daily Kansan
Friday, April 3, 1998
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Interracial dating gains favor
Couples still struggle for family approval
By Angela Johnson Special to the Kansan
Marie D'Agostino and Brian Ewhanks are a perfect match.
"We're real compatible," Ewbanks said. "We were friends before we started dating, and we'll always be friends no matter what."
The couple, who have been dating for a year, love to travel and enjoy going to clubs. Most importantly, they make each other laugh.
There is one difference between D'Agostino, Leawood freshman, and Ewbanks, Kansas City, Mo., resident. He's African American and she's white.
It is a minor difference, one that in the past decade has become more widely accepted in society.
In 1958, about 5 percent of white American adults approved of interracial marriages. Today, about 62 percent approve, said Norman Yetman, professor of sociology and American studies.
Still, some interracial couples say they experience problems, especially within their families.
"My parents are from an uppermiddle class society, and they don't approve of me dating
"No, 1. I don't judge. Second, it's her busine-s, and she will take care of it," Ewbanks said. "Any interference from me right now would only make matters worse."
Brian," D'Agostino said. "Mainly they worry about me getting hurt (emotionally), and what other people will think."
Ewbanks said that, at this stage in the relationship, the issue should stay within the family.
With time, he said he hoped her family will see past skin color and judge him by how he treats their daughter.
"As long as they see that I'm not trying to harm her, they'll understand," Ewbanks said. "I don't want them to think I'm taking their daughter away from them."
Relationships between African Americans and whites create most of the tension about interracial dating in our society, Yetman said.
"The opposition against Asians and whites or Hispanics and whites in relationships is less than blacks and whites," Yetman said. "Younger people tend to be more tolerant with this kind of issue."
Laurie Weeks, Lawrence freshman, dated a student of Japanese descent when they both were juniors at Lawrence High School. She said they were friends before they started dating.
Weeks said they made the transition from friends to dating when
she was working on a yearbook story at the state swim meet, in which he was competing. On the next interview, he asked her out.
"He's a flirt," Weeks said. "He has a good sense of humor, and he's one of those guys who's good at whatever he does."
The relationship wasn't a problem with her parents, but it was with her grandparents and older relatives.
"They're all pretty old and set in their ways," Weeks said. "I tried not to let it influence me. I avoided the topic as much as possible."
"I know that the stereotypes of blacks are not true." she said.
Weeks said her boyfriend's family always made her feel comfortable.
Both D'Agostino and Ewbanks said eventually her family would accept their relationship.
"He grew up in Japan until he was five, then his family moved to Lawrence," she said. "They're very Americanized."
For couples in interracial dating relationships, race is not a constant issue. D'Agostino said she doesn't see Ewbanks as an African-American man.
"I would never make her choose me or her family." Ewbanks said. "The may be unhappy with her now, but that's their daughter, and they'll love her no matter what. I know that if I do right they'll come around."
Bv Jodi Smith
Special to the Kansan
Race relations, the link between German and French philosophers and lyrics of rap artist Snoop Doggy Dogg will be the topic of a speech tonight at the Spencer Museum of Art.
Michael Eric Dyson, the author of several books about the effects of race in American life will speak at 7 p.m. in the museum's auditorium. His best known book is *Race Rules*.
Dyson is a visiting distinguished professor of African-American studies at Columbia University in New York and directs the institute for research in African-American
studies at the university. Dyson also has a doctorate in philosophy from Princeton and is a Baptist minister.
"He has quite the gift of oratory, plus the substance," said Earle Knowlton, associate dean of the school of education. "It's as good a combination of those two things as it gets."
Dyson will be signing books after his talk, and books will be available for sale 30 minutes before and after the speech.
"His books tend to comment on American culture and the role of our racial relations, particularly African American and Caucasian," Knowlton said.
Alisa Branham, administrative
assistant to the dean of the school of education, said Dyson's speech would stress the importance of education.
Dyson credits the beginning of his intellectual life to a neighbor he had when he was growing up in Detroit.
The neighbor, intrigued by the 14-year-old Dyson who attended school and church and worked and competed in oratory contests, gave him her late husband's collection of the Harvard Classics, books of classic literature and mythology.
Tonight's speech is co-sponsored by the provost's office, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the School of Education. The event is open to the public.
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