Interracial Marriages

Interracial Marriages

Thomas Allen

    Table 1 shows the total number of marriages for Whites and Blacks and the number of White and Black interracial marriages for the census years from 1960 to 2010 and the percent of marriages that are interracial. Table 2 shows the percent increase in interracial marriages from the previous census years. Table 3 shows the percent increase in interracial marriages from 1960. These data are from Statistical Abstracts and the censuses.
    In 1960, only 0.4 percent of White marriages were interracial. About 1.7 percent of Black marriages were interracial.  In 1967, the Supreme Court nullified laws prohibiting interracial marriages with its Loving v. Virginia decision. Since then, interracial marriages have exploded. The percentage of interracial White marriage had almost doubled by 1970; in absolute marriages, they had more than doubled. By 2010 3 percent of White marriages were interracial. This is an increase of 1518 percent from 1960.
    Initially, Blacks were slower than Whites at marrying outside their race. The percentage of Black interracial marriages in 1970 was slightly more than that of 1960. Nevertheless, 27 percent more Black marriages were interracial in 1970 than in 1960. After 1970, Black interracial marriages soared. By 2010, 14 percent of Black marriages were interracial. Between 1960 and 2010, Black interracial marriages increased 1353 percent.
    As these tables show, the fear of the segregationists of the 1950s that integration would lead to miscegenation and amalgamation was well-founded. The claim of integrationists of the 1950s that this fear was ill-founded proved to be wrong. Most of these integrationists knew at that time that they were wrong. Thus, they lied.

Copyright © 2016 by Thomas Coley Allen.

More articles on social issues.