Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Celebrate Loving: Interracial Marriage on the 50th Anniversary of Loving v Virginia
This week is the 50th anniversary of one of the great Supreme Court decisions, Loving v Virginia. In 1967, interracial marriage was illegal in the lingering residue of the slave states. Only 3% of American marriages were interracial. Loving changed that.
Today, 11% of all marriages are interracial, and the rates are rising. An even better indicator of the future is that 17% of all new marriages are interracial. Hispanics and Asians are leading the way - already more than 1/4th of their marriages are interracial.
Attitudes toward interracial marriage have also improved dramatically. In 1990 - not in the dark ages before the Civil Rights Movement, but just one generation ago - most white people opposed intermarriage for themselves or their relatives. Now that group is down to 14%.
Even more indicative of a sea-change in attitudes: today, almost 40% of Americans think interracial marriage is a good thing for the country.
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2 comments:
Dr: There could possibly be unintentional consequences to excessive
Interracial marriage. Look what is occurring in Europe.
My only objection to Loving is that it was decided based upon Constitutional smoke and mirrors. Specifically, it was one of the early decisions to be based--at least in part-- on a constitutional right to privacy flowing from Griswold. In each case, a previously unknown right to "privacy" was created out of penumbras and shadows rather than a reading of the actual Constitution.
Good result--but hard cases make bad law.
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