Posted on 9th June 2011 by laneia in Relationships
interracial marriage, legal case, mixed marriage, the lovings
This weekend marks the anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case of the Lovings vs. Virginia. The Lovings were an interracial couple that, despite the laws of Virginia banning interracial marriage, were married in the District of Columbia.
After being married, the Lovings returned to their home state of Virginia, where they were arrested and charged with the criminal act of marriage (interracial marriage).
In 1959, the Lovings pleaded guilty and were sentenced to prison. In the 1959 hearing, the judge in the case proclaimed that:
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 (source).
However, the judge agreed to suspend their sentence on the condition that the Lovings leave the state of Virginia, for which they did. After years of court battles, the US Supreme Court finally overturned the convictions in a unanimous decision, dismissing Virginia’s argument that a law forbidding both white and black persons from marrying persons of another race, and providing identical penalties to white and black violators, could not be construed as racially discriminatory.
It was not until 2000 that the final state, Alabama, had repealed its laws against mixed-marriages. Today, it is legal in all US states to marry inter-racially.
You can learn more about the Lovings at http://lovingday.org/the-loving-story.
Photo Credits: NY times and Associated Press
Posted on 23rd April 2011 by laneia in Relationships
interracial marriage, interracial relationships, politics and race, poll
On April 7th, the Public Policy Polling Group released the results of a March 2011 poll that found, among other things, that 46% of Mississippi Republicans think interracial marriage should be illegal. 14% of the polled voters were unsure if interracial marriage should remain legal.
To view the full poll results, click here.
It would have been interesting to dig more into the reasonings behind these feelings. However, the survey neglected to get into that much details.
Why do you think some people hold on to notions that interracial marriage should be illegal?
Posted on 19th April 2011 by laneia in Film and Events |History and Politics |Relationships
2011 tribeca film festival, biracial documentary, biracial film, interracial marriage, Loving family, Loving story, the loving story
The Tribeca Film Festival Presents “The Loving Story” – Thursday, April 21, 2011 – Friday, April 29, 2011
Director Nancy Buirski says “The Loving Story is first of all a love story. It’s a story of a modest, humble couple who triumph over all odds to reverse decades-old anti-miscegenation/anti-interracial marriage sentiments and bigotry. The Lovings were a couple who wanted the right to love whom they wanted to love, and felt that it was important for other people to have that same right.”
(more…)
Posted on 21st February 2011 by Tunde in Celebrations |Food and Culture |Relationships
cultural weddings, interfaith marriage, interracial, interracial marriage, interracial relationships, multicultural weddings
Recently, I stumbled across a TV show called Four Weddings on the TLC network. The premise of the show is four brides enter their wedding day in a competition to win their dream honeymoon.
All of the brides vote on each other’s weddings in the following categories, Food, Venue, Dress, and Overall Experience. This particular episode caught my attention because all four brides were from different racial backgrounds and three of the brides were marrying men from different racial/cultural backgrounds from their own.
There was a Puerto Rican and Dominican couple, a Jamaican and Thailand couple and an Egyptian and American couple. All three bride/groom couple incorporated pieces of cultural tradition into their weddings. I immediately thought of my own wedding and how important it was for me to incorporate a little bit of tradition from both of our cultures. (more…)
Posted on 14th February 2011 by laneia in Families |Identity |Relationships
Halle Berry, identifying as black, multiracial families, multiracial identity, racial identity of child
In addition to the reporting of the ongoing crisis in Egypt, last week’s online news agencies exploded with allegations that in a recent interview with Ebony Magazine, Halle Berry referred to her mixed-race daughter, Nahla, as Black.
The Halle/Gabriel Background
Halle is in the middle of a contentious custody battle with her ex Gabriel Aubry, a White male model. The tabloids are reporting all types of accusations from sources in both camps. Allegedly, Halle’s ‘people’ say Gabriel gets angry when people refer to Nahla as Black. Gabriel’s ‘people’ say Halle throws fits and rages at the slightest things.
Let’s be reminded that we are hearing of this through the tabloids and un-named sources. I haven’t yet directly heard Halle or Gabriel make any of these kinds of statements. (more…)
Posted on 27th January 2011 by Tunde in Families |Relationships
interracial relationships, multiracial families, prejudice in biracial families, race-based prejudice
I recently had a conversation with a friend and she shared a concern. My girlfriend is White and her husband is Hispanic. They have been married for several years and have two small children age 3 and 5. My girlfriend’s family loves her husband, and adores their children. However, it is clear they harbor prejudice feelings towards Hispanics and have made her husband an exception to the Hispanic race.
The off colored remarks, jokes and perpetuation of stereotypes have always been at a minimum so they are somewhat tolerated. Now that the children are getting older the concern is they could be influenced by their grandparents, resulting in them feeling ashamed or embarrassed of their Hispanic heritage. (more…)
Posted on 17th January 2011 by laneia in Relationships
interracial relationships, Japenese women, multiracial relationships
A recent article posted in The Australian asserts that “statistics show that more and more Japanese women are turning their backs on Japanese men and marrying Australian, American, European or British men. Mixed marriages in Japan, one of the most racially homogeneous countries in the world, are on the rise. The overall numbers are still small, but dating or marrying a Westerner has gained acceptance, if not a certain cachet or coolness in some social classes.”
What are your thoughts on this? See full article here.
This weekend marks the anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case of the Lovings vs. Virginia. The Lovings were an interracial couple that, despite the laws of Virginia banning interracial marriage, were married in the District of Columbia.