What happened when I had a black boyfriend

By Kailyn Jennings

I’m a skinny, knock-kneed, white girl from a small farm town in upstate New York. I have blue eyes, pale skin, brown hair. I’m quiet and usually buried in a book. I’m average.

Imagine people’s surprise when I began dating the 6-foot-7-inch Division I basketball player. The black one.

I can’t count the number of times people asked me what it’s like to date a black man. The only thing different about dating a black man is people asking me what it’s like to date a black man.

Those same people usually asked if I was okay, too. Am I okay? Not with people being blind to their own ignorance.

They may have been blind, but they certainly still saw color.

During a visit to my hometown, my boyfriend and I went to pick a friend up from a party. There, I hugged other friends I hadn’t…