I was raised to believe that people of all colors can be a bad influence or a good influence. Good together, or bad together. As far as dating or marrying someone outside of your own race, it should depend on the two people involved. True love does not see the color of ones skin. It sees the heart. And whether a person is black or white, or Chinese, or Indian, or whatever race they are, if they are alive, then they have a heart that beats, and their blood is red.
There are too many racists in this world. Too many people who hate one another. Life is too short to judge each other by the color of our skin, or if we are Christian, or baptist, or catholic.
I'm white, and I chose to marry a man who is white. But if I fell in love with a black man, or a man with a different color skin than mine, I would not let people influence my decision to follow my heart. I will say that sometimes when there are children that come from an inter racial relationship, they sometimes have a hard time finding out who they are. But if they are taught from the beginning that the color of our skin does not make us any better or any less of a person who deserves respect from others, then they should be just fine.
Our grand daughter is a child from an inter racial marriage. My daughter is white, and her husband is black. We could not ask for a better son in law. This man is a Godly man who takes care of his family. He works hard, and treats our daughter with the up most respect. He helps not only raise their daughter, but also my daughters son, who is white and from her first marriage. Our families all get along very well. It's all about love & respect. Not color!