ABSTRACT
Conversations about the way that race and sex affect us are not only emotionally charged but also provocative. Not surprisingly, I encountered a number of difficulties in just getting a sample of Black men involved in interracial relationships to talk with me. To begin with, I had to justify my reasons for wanting to talk with them. After I had convinced them of my intentions, I was then faced with the challenge of getting them to respond openly and honestly to my frank questions. Of course, I also knew that because I was a Black woman, some men were probably going to be uncomfortable with talking about these issues to me. It’s fair to question whether they actually gave honest answers to my questions. Can I be certain of the veracity of the men’s responses? No, I cannot say, unequivocally, that all of the men were always truthful. I had only their testimony to go on. On a few occasions, I was able to validate (or invalidate) their remarks with those of the person who referred me to them. I am grateful for this help, but I am also cautious in attempting to interpret any differences in the men’s reports from those of the referrals.
