Interracial Relationships

Abstract

Who can believe that is was one hundred forty-three years ago when President Abraham Lincoln declared the Emancipation Proclamation. This freed all men and women bound by slavery and marked the beginning of equality. From that day to present we continue to be a land of opportunity and freedom allowing immigrants from foreign land to sovereign here in hopes of a more fulfilling life. And as America's "salad bowl" grows larger and more diverse, so becomes the propensity of dating outside your race or ethnic group. Despite the views of the media and society, interracial dating or marriage continues to feel as though it's "taboo" but a recent poll in the United States relates that married interracial couples have doubled between the years of 1990 and 2000.

The purpose of this project is to reflect on the history of interracial relationships, its evolution, and the social impact in our modern days. To identify recent studies that have proven interracial relationships are becoming more acceptable, and the views of the youth. Why black and white couples are the most difficult to accept among interracial relationships and what love should be based on.

Although racism is still a prominent issue within the United States, accepting interracial relationships is a step forward to overcoming ignorance and to relinquish a burden that is hindering our nation from being completely united.

Over the past forty years interracial relationship and marriages have become more and more accepted in today's society. Most of the negative views of interracial relationships and marriages come from our parents and grandparents who lived in a time of racial and ethnic turmoil and still have old scars and beliefs that have not yet healed or faded away. Our parents and grandparents lived times that most would say were best forgotten regarding racism, and do not like to talk about them. It is important for society to be well rounded and open-minded when considering the discussion of interracial relationships and marriages.

HISTORY

Miscegenation is derived from the Latin word miscere "to mix" and genus "kind". It is the mixing of different ethnicities or races, especially in marriage, cohabitation, or sexual relationships.

Miscegenation was unheard of and considered illegal in the United States when it was first introduced in 1863. There was a fear that the goal of the United States Republican Party was secretly plotting to destroy the white race by miscegenation. This was believed by many white segregationists. In 1864, an anonymous propaganda pamphlet was published titled Miscegenation: The theory of the Blending of Races, applied to the American White Man and Negro. The pamphlet was an attempt to

discredit the Republican Party, the Lincoln Administration, and the Abolitionist and movement by exploiting the fears and racial biases common among whites.

In 1958, an interracial couple decided to get married, ignoring all laws and lack of social acceptance. Richard (white) and Mildred (black) Loving resided in Virginia where it was illegal to marry outside of one's race so they married in Washington D.C. where it was legal. The law stated "Punishment for marriage.-If any white person intermarry with a colored person, or any colored person intermarry with a white person, he shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by confinement in the penitentiary for not less than one nor more than five years."

Soon after their marriage they were prosecuted in the state of Virginia and convicted for violating the law. They had a choice of one year in prison unless they agreed to leave the state and not return for a period of 25 years. The judge stated, "Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, Malay, and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix." In 1963 they returned to Washington D.C. where they initiated a suit challenging the constitutionality of the anti-miscegenation law.

Finally, in 1967 the United States Supreme Court unanimously decided the law was unconstitutional and legalized interracial marriages. Since then interracial marriages have been on a rise. According to the U.S. Census Bureau 310,000 interracial couples married in 1970 (0.7%); 651,000 in 1980 (1.3%), and 1,161,000 in 1992 (2.2%). The 2002 Census revealed a dramatically increased 2,669,558 (4.9%) interracial marriages.

SOCIAL VIEWS

Is it true that more than one-half of Americans have interracially dated? Yes. A study by sociologist George Yancey, of the University of North Texas, established that inter-dating today is not unusual. Yancey sampled 2,561 adults, aged 18 or older telephonically from October 1999 to April 2000. Yancey concluded that 35.7 percent of white Americans had inter-dated, along with 56.5 percent of African Americans, 55.4 percent of Hispanic Americans, and 57.1 percent of Asian Americans. Additionally, he concluded that those who attended racially or ethnically integrated schools were considerably more likely to inter-date. However, Yancey says that whites might inter-date less because they are numerically the majority within our society. We must also take into account ones geographical location within the United States. It is likely that if a person grows up in an ethnically diverse location they would be more prone to be less sensitive toward interracial relationships than one who has been deprived of diversity within their geographical location. For example, a person from New York City would normally be more accepting of an interracial relationship than a person that grew up in Montana.

Although interracial dating is becoming more common and more acceptable within society it is a proven fact that American has a harder time accepting black and white relationships. From a recent poll