Interracial Marriage in the 1950s

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Interracial marriage in the US is a common thing, which is considered a healthy phenomenon for American society. Today, around 39% of people marry someone of a different race, which was not always the case (Bialik, 2017). In the 1950s, interracial marriage was considered immoral and even illegal in some states. Therefore, people of different races living together were often subject to discrimination, mocking, threatening, and even physical violence (Whitaker, 2011). The central problem was that the period was characterized by racial segregation laws that did not allow people of a different race to attend the same restaurants, cinemas, and other public places (Posner, 2010). Moreover, it was socially unacceptable to enter interracial relationships due to a high level of prejudice and racism in the United States.

Anti-miscegenation laws prohibited interracial marriage and sex, which were considered a felony in many states. According to Posner (2010), laws against mixed marriage were not federal; however, they were commonly accepted on the state level. These laws date back to colonial times, and they had not been banned until the late 1960s (Posner, 2010). Even though the case Perez v. Sharp in 1948 in California ruled that such laws were unconstitutional (Posner, 2010), the society was against mixed marriages (Whitaker, 2011). Segregation laws were also a considerable bother for the mixed couples since they could not attend any public places (Whitaker, 2011).

Couples had to look for sites where both whites and non-whites were allowed and silently accept the mocking and judgment of the society (Whitaker, 2011). Moreover, parents often disapproved of mixed marriages, which led to the struggling and anxiety of people in an interracial relationship. Therefore, interracial marriage was a courageous undertaking, and couples went through considerable barriers to be together.

Today, the situation concerning the issue has changed drastically due to various social, political, and judicial changes. First, all the segregation and miscegenation laws were banned, which means that there is no legal prohibition of relationships between races today. Second, increased political openness, globalization, and migration led to increasing the number of interactions between cultures. Such changes positively affected tolerance to representatives of different races (Bialik, 2017). Third, education has positively affected social change concerning the acceptance of cross-cultural families.

According to Bialik (2017), the number of years in formal education is positively correlated with approval of mixed marriages. Since the average level of education has grown considerably, the attitude towards mixed marriages changed. Finally, the generation of those who lived through segregation laws and social unacceptability of the phenomenon has changed. Modern parents approve of interracial relationships, which removes another barrier. In summary, today’s society does not consider race to be a reason not to enter relationships, which is influenced by the factors described above.