Rachel is black; Nick is white.
We know, really, we promise.
I wrote my previous article when I first heard the announcement that Rachel would be the next Bachelorette, commending ABC for finally choosing a black woman as the lead for their show.
This week, however, after watching the hometown episode, I find myself writing an entirely different article.
Rachel and her family have so many wonderful qualities, values, and personalities, and by focusing on their blackness, rather than their character traits, we are saying that the color of their skin is more important than the qualities they possess, and this is simply not true.
The best way to promote normalizing interracial relationships, in my opinion, is not to talk about it every time Rachel or her family are on camera, but to show that the color of a person's skin is not the important thing we should be focusing on.
Several member of Rachel's family, including her mother, questioned Nick on his feelings about Rachel's race, and his dating history, specifically with black women.
He answered their questions well, explaining all of the reasons for which he adored Rachel, from her intelligence to her beauty to her fun sense of humor. Nick handled himself with grace and confidence, as Rachel has done every time I have seen her on the show. I wish the producers of The Bachelor would take a page from Nick's handbook and focus on Rachel's character, and her relationship with Nick, rather than focusing primarily on the color of her skin.
I thought Nick did a particularly nice job explaining his feelings when he discussed the topic of their different races with Rachel:
"I'm not color blind. I know you're black."
He then went on to tell her all of the things he loved about her and the reasons why, out of the 30 potential women, he chose to give Rachel his first impression rose.
**Cue the melting.**
I will be the first to admit I am being slightly hypocritical here by writing an article imploring everyone to stop talking about Rachel's skin color, as I write about her skin color.
So, this will be the last I mention of Rachel or Nick's race, because that isn't what matters!!! What matters in a relationship is the love and the connection and, if you're on The Bachelor, the roses!
PS: ABC, I am so upset that you chose to already announce that Rachel will be the next Bachelorette before her time with Nick has come to an end! Watching their interactions now feels sad, at best, and at worst feels completely fake. I think their hometown date would have felt noticeably more powerful if you had waited to make the announcement until Rachel was no longer one of Nick's potential partners.
That being said, for reasons I can never seem explain even to myself, come 8:00 on Monday night you can catch me on my couch with a glass of Cabernet in one hand and a tissue box in the other.
PPS: I'm not obsessed with The Bachelor... you are...
