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Race Mixing: Black-White Marriage in Postwar America

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I am appalled by the complete disregard that often occurs on the ACTUAL events of American history. As a biracial woman who is currently doing research for my own degree on this very subject matter, I find it unbelievable that once again the brutal history of lynch mobs committing horrific atrocities towards black men, women and children goes unquestioned by so many. I am happy that Romano was able to write an honest and critical review of a period in time which still resonates.

Black men were often lynched for reasons other than an interracial union, including the attempt at voter participation as well as owning successful businesses. After the Civil War and during Reconstruction, more than ten thousand black men were lynched by "white mobs". Very few were ever arrested or brought to trial for their actions. That's a fact, not a statement issued out of racist motivations or lack of historical study.

Black men were lynched, meaning severely beaten, hung and their genitalia cut off at even the HINT of an interracial union between a black man and a white woman. In 1955 one of the most infamous lynch incidents occurred and was in newspapers and magazines across the nation. Emmett Till, a fourteen-year-old boy who called a white woman "baby" was kidnapped that same day by the woman's husband and brother and was severely beaten and shot. The mother held an open casket because she wanted to show what they had done to her son who made the mistake of crossing the line.

Often, White men raped black women without provocation and these women had no recourse or protection of the law. The sexual exploitation of both black men and women began under slavery through forced breeding and the rape of black women. Law forbidding interracial unions preserved the taboo of interracial relationships and upheld the racial hierarchy in this country.

Romano focuses on Black male/White female unions because it was the most taboo and is still considered the most controversial interracial union. Interracial unions occurred, but they were often outside the bounds of marriage and were not commonly accepted, if and when, they were voluntary. During the early 90s, both white and black people married same race over 90% of the time. The trend has not changed very much since then, although more white men are marrying/dating Asian women. In fact, it is the largest demographic for interracial unions currently.

For anyone interested in this period of time, this is a good read about a subject that is often the source of controversy.

This book is largely a review of scenes from the lives of perhaps 100 married couples who broke the racial taboos. The scenes range from the holocaust like 40s to the puzzling 90s. In 1940 30 of 48 states held 'Black'/'White' marriages to be a crime. In 1967, 17 states still criminalized marriage between 'Blacks' and 'Whites'. In 1958, 96 % 'Whites' disapproved of marriages between 'Blacks' and 'Whites'.

The 60s were a time of change, though. Between 1960 and 2000, the number of 'Black'/'White' marriages increased by 400%. Between 1860 and 1970, marriages between 'whites' and 'blacks' were a highly emotional political issue. Now, the political debate centers on how to rid ourselves of the taboo. In 1997, 61% of 'Whites' said they approved of mixed marriages. Given America's history of blood thirsty 'White' lynch mobs murdering random 'Black' males, one might conclude something very significant had happened.. The book wonders if the taboo will soon disappear.

The first descriptions of the monster are pulled from the 1930s and 40s. It is horrible. The text will bring many to tears. It is easy to imagine, but hard to believe. Quote by ugly quote, the US government, US judiciary and vast numbers of ordinary people are implicated in this American brand of torture. We start with the story of a war bride coming to America to join her husband. It's the perfect story of an American GI and English sweetheart, but the GI is 'Black' so every 'White' functionary (including taxi drivers) attempt to dissuade our fair Juliet from consummating her desires. The stories only get more and more tragic. One wonders how our heroic lovers persevered.

The next two chapters deal with the immediate post war era. One covers the 'white' attempt to make sure nothing changes. The second looks into the arrival of 'Black'-'White' marriages in traditionally 'Black' extended families. The 'White' reaction is only slightly less holocaust like than the pre-war stories. The stories are not quite as tragic, but still provide a shock per page. The 'black' version is one of ambivalence. This ambivalence will play a bigger role later when it sets the stage for black' interest in maintaining the taboo.

The next three chapters cover the 50s to 60s. In this case, we pick up the notion of a emerging culture of artists, primarily musicians, and rebel intellectuals rejecting conventional society's taboos. Simultaneously, the colleges of America offer debates over various social programs. Meanwhile, the 'Black' soldiers returning from the war were organizing social revolution. Each setting provides case studies for 'Black'-'White' love stories from the era.

As we enter the late 70s we are told the story of 'talking black and sleeping white.' Now that the battle for voting rights had been won, and the Supreme Court has tossed out 'black-white' marriage prohibitions, the white participants in 'black' 'white' marriages suddenly discovered the Black side of the family isn't as ambivalent as 20 years before. If fact, there are some new issues to address. 'Black' pride suddenly emerged. 'Black' women objected the common sight of famous 'Black' athletes marrying 'White' brides.

And, here we end our tale. Oddly confused. The taboo, whatever it is or was, may have mutated!

To conclude, Prof Romano suggests the taboo is too difficult for mere individuals to overcome. "Indeed, interracial relationships today are increasingly being heralded as a sign of the country's success in overcoming racial inequality. Yet, the significance of the transformation that has occurred since the 1940s must be kept in perspective. Although the growing numbers of black-white couples demonstrate that the color line in the United States has become considerably more fluid, to take these marriages as proof that racism has disappeared or that race no longer carries much significance in American life oversimplifies the current racial situation. The taboo against interracial marriage has eroded significantly since World War II, but the increased social acceptance of interracial relationships does not necessarily mean the structural and institutional race inequalities no longer exist."

So, in the end, we are delivered a political message. I guess with something so mysteriously persistent, we all end up grasping at straws. It's kind of a screwy change of pace, but this opens the 'epilogue': Is love the answer?

In short, Prof. Romano answers 'no.' "There is no question that interracial love will become more common and even more accepted as racial barriers erode in American society, but it will take more than love to break down those barriers. Old hierarchies must be dismantled for new attitudes about interracial love and marriage to flourish.'

While interesting, I don't find Romano's political argument well developed. She's got it backwards and her stories demonstrate this fact, old hierarchies are nothing when compared to the force of nature represented by a man and a woman who happen to want each other's company in the most intimate and complete manner possible.

For a version of the 'love solves all' perspective, see Mulatto-Nation. Rather than starting at a 1940s cross burning, Mulatto-Nation starts with a detailed description of white slavery prior to the civil war. According to the book, a majority of Americans are already mulatto, biologically and socially. We just haven't accepted it psychologically.

It's rare to find a book that so clearly explores recent social history while moving the reader emotionally. *Race Mixing* discusses the legal, social, and cultural history of interracial marriage, explores ideas of marriage and family in both the black and white communities, and presents the testimony of interracial couples who faced racism and social sanction in addition to all the other pressures inherent in building a marriage. It's these stories, woven so well into the historical context, that give the book its heart. Read it now!

Race Mixing: Black-White Marriage In Postwar America by Renee C. Romano (Professor of History at Wesleyan University) is an extraordinary study documenting the historical progression of the integration of the black and white cultures in America through racial intermarriage. Presenting a thorough and informative understanding of the social revolutions since the 1950's and 1960's, Race Mixing follows the lives of illustrative mixed-race couples and their experiences while incorporating the political and social struggles which established modern acceptability of what was once a statutory crime in a number of American states. For its painstaking scholarship providing both academia and non-specialist general readers a concise understanding of the cultural revolution represented by interracial marriages, Race Mixing is very strongly recommended reading, especially for students of American culture and the civil rights ordinances.

This book, from one of the rising stars of the Academy, could not be more timely. Moreover, it is one of those rare books that one can imagine both assigning in an upper-level seminar and wrapping up as a gift to a parent. It is both brilliantly conceived and beautifully written.

This book purports itself to be a definitive text on inter racial marriage. But this book actually targets only one kind of marriage, namely that of white women and black men. Unfortunately this book also takes up the rhetoric of trying to show how many `white lynch mobs' were the norm. In fact few documented instances exist of such a phenomenon. In reality their were far more anti-white riots in the inner cities of the 60s then their ever were `white lynch mobs'. But this boo gets away without using documentation because it is an accepted American myth that inter-racial dating is a terrible national taboo.
Had this book bothered to analyze American history it would have noted that inter-racial marriages were the norm rather then the exception. Interracial dating in fact created the modern Cherokeee nation, which is more Scottish then it is Indian due to the massive interrelations of these communities. Also we see that interracial marriage between white men and Asian women were also the norm and that no `lynch mobs' rounded up these women. Beyond these facts is the covert level of dating and marriage between white men and African American women, of whom Mr. Strom Thurmond is simply the most famous. In the end this book is the predictable text that is mildy racist towards whites in its polemics and inflated remarks regarding `lynch mobs' which in reality target more Jews in the South then they ever did African Americans.

Seth J. Frantzman