Don't Bring Home a White Boy: And Other Notions that Keep Black Women From Dating Out »

IN AN AGE WHEN AMERICA HAS EMBRACED a mixed-race president and a strong, independent black woman as first lady...when black women are on the move and more empowered than ever before...there remains one hot-button topic that stirs up cultural resistance and intensity of emotion like no other: interracial relationships -- or, specifically, when black women date or marry white men.

What is it about the black female/white male dynamic that sparks such controversy and depth of feeling? What keeps many single black women from exploring relationships outside of their race at a time when the pool of eligible black men is at an all-time low?

"Don't bring home a white boy" is the cultural message stamped deep into every black daughter, an enduring twenty-first-century taboo with origins dating back to the Civil War era, the turbulent Civil Rights decades, and beyond. Now at last there is an honest, eye-opening examination of this societal phenomenon that will resonate with women everywhere and give voice to all sides of the debate. Karyn Langhorne Folan, herself a black woman happily married to a white man, brings together historical, statistical, psychological, and personal perspectives in a groundbreaking book that boldly debunks the "notions" that can keep interracial dating off the table for many women, including:

After slavery, I could never date a white man...

My family would never accept him -- and his would never accept me...

White men don't find black women attractive unless they look like Halle...

Our biracial children would have no sense of identity...

It means I'm a sellout, or fi lled with self-hate...

We'd just be too different...

Filled with real-life anecdotes from, and interviews with, men and women of both races and informed by Folan's thorough and expansive research, Don't Bring Home a White Boy is both an invaluable contribution to the topic of interracial dating and a timely handbook to help women look beyond skin color in the quest to have all they deserve and desire in a life partner.

Publishers Weekly

A black lawyer with a white husband, Folan encourages other African-American women to consider dating or marrying outside their immediate circles with a sincere but matter-of-fact discussion of interracial relationships. Challenging readers to stop letting notions of difference keep them from happiness, the Harvard-educated attorney addresses the conscious, unconscious and often-unstated issues that contribute to the ongoing taboo: is a black woman who dates or marries interracially a traitor? Is a white husband an emblem of self-hatred? What factor does the U.S. history of sexual oppression play? Though she can sound flip ("I figured since I was doing so badly with the chocolate, I'd give the vanilla a try"), Folan addresses her touchy subject matter deliberately and thoroughly, including lengthy interviews with committed interracial couples who discuss how they met, the reactions of friends and family, and how they've managed over the years, letting their success stories illustrate her points. Though Folan's well-meaning text may not eliminate her readers' hesitation regarding this very loaded subject, it makes an excellent starting point.