Friendships Between Black and White Women

Abstract

This article focuses on the challenges facing one European American woman as she delved into a topic that has seen little research. What is the essence of friendships between Black women and White women, and how do cross-racial female dyads negotiate their differences? For the researcher, the challenge was in developing an appropriate methodology that could elicit honest responses from participants who sit on either side of a racial divide. Eight women in four cross-racial friendship dyads were interviewed individually and in their friendship dyad to discover the effect racial difference has on friendship negotiation. Questions posed revolve around race, class, power, and political possibilities for impacting racism. The data revealed the possibilities for crossing the racial divide that has historically kept Black women and White women at a distance. It showed the potentiality for these women to experience not only equal but sustaining friendships.

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