O.J. Simpson wasn’t the first black man to cross the color line by marrying a white woman. He was not the first one who ended up in a heap of trouble when the tick of the clock brought about a fatal end to that alliance. The fatal, brutal end of 14-year old Emmitt Till’s life in 1955 because he was accused of flirting with a white woman was still fresh on people’s minds in 1985 when O.J. Simpson married Nicole Brown. Brown was a Caucasian waitress that he met when he was still married to his first wife, Marguerite, who was African-American.
Nicole Brown was not the first woman to be seen as a home-wrecker, and O.J. wasn’t the first to be accused of being a turncoat. A turncoat is defined as one who shifts allegiance from one loyalty or ideal by switching to the opposite side. A person who becomes a turncoat is seen as a betrayer.
Sometimes that is the crux of people’s resentment when they see this type of interracial make-up. They can’t stand the idea that a man has betrayed the very circumstances of his birth, in that he was born into a race, and typically have a mother of that race; yet choose to deal with women who don’t look like that mother or typify that race.
Some consider it a rejection, like a slap in the face when black men pass over a whole range of black women for a white woman.
With all of the talk swirling around about the issue of black men who choose or prefer white women and white women who prefer black men, there has cropped up a number of metaphors.
Some say such a man prefers a little cream in his coffee, meaning he doesn’t want his coffee all black.
There is also the term trophy wife, which signals the idea that a man has chosen to have what he feels will be a superior woman on his arm for the world to see. It’s also supposed to be a victory over white men.
White women are said to be chasing the chocolate, due to this same dynamic.
There are other metaphors to describe this dynamic. It’s hard to discuss the issue without indicating that there have been some lingering resentments between the races. For instance, there exists some concerns that the ratio of black men to black women is already skewed enough for different reasons; so this private decision brings some collateral damage, that might not even be intended, into the public square. Are we too independent, too angry, too.. well.. ok.. you know..
Some shop talk centers around the notion that many black men are incarcerated, homosexual or on the downlow; and that it hurts to see so many of the free, straight black men migrating to white women; thereby diminishing the pool of available black men even more.
Resentment notwithstanding, the truth is that whether people like it or not, whether people accept it or not – it’s a fact that many black men have chosen and are still choosing white women over black women. Why?
I would like to know your thoughts…
http://www.biography.com/people/emmett-till-507515#awesm=~oGnnbCk8dzlEbW
