Interracial Relationships and the Myth of Post Racial America

It really is amazing how life works out. Sometimes I don't understand why certain things happen in my life. Often times events are seemingly random and completely unconnected. But at other times everything falls into place like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle.

So a couple of days ago I'm on my way to class when I run into a beautiful woman who is an old friend from high school. We stop and chat for a while about life, how the quarter is going, just basically catching up on everything that has happened since the three years we've seen each other. I'm having a great time and am running the risk of being late, not that that was high on my priority list at the time. So just when I'm about to ask for her number she drops the bombshell, she already has a boyfriend. Now before you ask, no this isn't some personal sob story about my love life or the lack thereof. I went on about my day still happy we had a chance to talk and rather nostalgic about my recent social past. It never once occurred to me that the fact that she is White might alarm some people.

Fast forward two days and I'm browsing the web at work when I come across two interesting articles. The first involves an interracial couple that was denied a marriage license in Louisianna. My first reaction was shock, I thought maybe it wasn't recent, like a fluffy historical news interest article about life in the 1950's. Then I looked at the date and realized that this was recent, as in 2009! Then the anger set in. I'm really passionate about justice and equality for all people, I'm also a hopeless romantic, so the idea of someone telling someone else who they can or can't marry based upon a reason as stupid as skin color is mortifying to me. I read a little bit of the article and was surprised to find that the jugde OPENLY ADMITTED that the reason he denied their request was because they were an interracial couple. At this point, I was confused. People who are racists and bigots very rarely openly admit to a point like this. Most people try to hide behind rational like "I'm not racist because I have Black friends" or "I didn't mean to offend anybody, those are just my beliefs". Once caught, bigots often offer a weak apology to placate the media and then go right back to business as usual. However this case seemed a little different.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091016/ap_on_re_us/us_interracial_rebuff

The rational behind the judge's decision was interesting to say the least. To summarize the article he basically said that based on his past experience, the children of interacial marriages are not accepted by either ethnic group and are therefore socially maligned and ostracized. He contends that this causes extreme harm to the child and that he wants no part in creating such a painful situation. For this reason he has denied every interracial marriage request he has recieved, which is a grand total of 4. The judge goes on to say that he treats everyone the same, marries Black couples in his home and "lets them use his bathroom" so therefore he is not racist. The couple currently in question has vowed to fight this matter in court with the help of the American Civil Liverties Union.

There are several interesting questions involiving race relations and legal conscience that can be raised from this scenario. However, I only want to focus on one in particular, is the judge right about the kids? Obviously what the judge did is against the law. It is illegal to discriminate against anyone based upon their skin color. But the judge raises an interesting point. Are interracial relationships and their offspring still socially unacceptable in America? I know historically speaking they certainly were at one point. If they still are then that would be a huge blow to this whole wave of euphoria about America being a post-racial nation since we finally elected a Black president as the commander in chief. Unfortunately the article about the judge offers no survey data about people's attitudes towards cross-race love. But my attention was grabbed by a link to a related article on politico.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28175.html

This article is about a man who is currently running for political office in New York. He is a White man who is married to a Black woman and is one of the first politicians to ever use images of an interracial family as a positive in campaign politics. He has two beautiful children who campaign with him and pose for photos. This is an uplifting story about a genuine guy that isnt ashamed of who he is or who his family is. By all accounts, political pundits and analysts have concluded that his campaign strategy, designed to give him credibility among Black voters and to portray the image of solidarity, worked very well. He recently won the Democratic primary run off election and is now preparing for the next phase of the campaign. The article continues with glowing interviews from the family and from analysts who all describe this as an example of the wonderful effect that Obama has had on the social and moral fiber of America.

Then reality sets in. It seems that as long as it's a White man marrying a Black Woman or a White person interested in someone of the opposite gender who is Asian or Hispanic or Native American then there is no problem. Black people can usually marry anyone they want too, actually it seems like everyone can, as long as you aren't a Black man that wants a White woman that is. The article goes on to note that the political history of interracial relationships has not always been so pleasant. They reference a 2006 Senate race in Tennessee where the Black incumbent was beaten by the Republican challenger after the Republican National Commitee ran adds tying the Black man to a scantily clad White woman who was several years his junior. Small wonder he only lost the election. 40 Years ago it would have been his life. And yes the this is the same Republican National Committee that currently has a token Black guy, Michael Steele, as its chairman to try and nullify Obama's hold on the minority electorate vote. Maybe if he would stop trying to be hip and actually condemn racist practices like that 2006 campaign add then I would buy into the charade a little more.

Make no mistake, this is all intentional. The political strategists knew that stoking racial fears would win them that Senate seat. They also knew that it was wrong but they did it anyway. Since slavery, Americans have had an incredibly powerful and equally stupid belief that Black men were here to harm "their" White women. It was one of the justifications for slavery that Black men were animals that need to be controlled for the good of society. Slave rebellions would somehow mean that White women would be terrorized and victimized by the brute, by the animal, by the other. Nevermind the fact that it was actually White men who were married to White women who were the ones raping Black slaves and forcing them to carry and deliver their illigitimate children. After the emancipation proclomation there was no mass rape of White women. White Union soldiers did more damage economically and socially to the South then the freed slaves. But their irrational and racist fears persisted, some even till this day. Emmit Till was a 14 year old kid who was murdered and thrown in a river because he allegedly whistled at a White woman. This was one of the pivotal events that helped to spark the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's. I wonder what these same people would say 50 years later if they saw me chatting with my friend on the bus.

Irrational fears and bigotry were enough to derail the politcal career of an otherwise successful legislator. Race relations and politics continue to interact in unfortunately negative and predictable ways. Don't get me wrong, we have made large strides as a nation. The second article cites a Gallup study that put public support for interracial relationships in 1994 at 48%. In 13 years that number has risen to 77% by 2009. Also please note that this is not just a White phenonmenon. There are plenty of bigoted Blacks as well who can't get past their own prejudice to accept an interracial relationship. I actually wrote a whole post on this a few months back. Regardless of what color or etnic group you are, you should be able to find love and enjoy it without some racist nutjob condemning the union. Until the number from the Gallup poll is at 100% approval (with people not lying on the survey), America still has work to do. It is sad that I can have the best of intentions and the purest of motives and still be frowned upon for who I choose to socialize and interact with. Things didn't work out with my friend, but if they had I wonder how long it would be before we too were the victim of irrational fears and prejudice.