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Our first blueprint for social interaction comes from our family of origin. To a large extent, this blueprint is based on culture (Gudykunst & Ting-Toomey, 1990). We have come to understand how outside influences affect in-group communication (see Foeman & Pressley, 1987;Kochman, 1981;Orbe, 1994; Stanback & Pearce, 1981, for examples of this dynamic in Black-White race relations). However, much investigation still needs to be conducted to understand communication when individuals from different groups engage in ongoing and intimate relationships, such as interracial marriage.In intimate cross-group contacts, the number of relevant perceptions, metaperceptions, meta-metaperceptions, and so forth become almost incalculable (Bateson, Jackson, Haley, & Weakland, 1956/1972. We can assume that in the course of a long-term relationship that crosses cultural lines, many struggles may occur at the meta level with little chance of easy resolution.The goal of this examination is to consider the dynamics that occur when individuals of different races, in particular African American and European American, attempt to develop successful intimate relationships. African American and European American 540

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