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Marriage between blacks and whites is a longstanding and deeply ingrained taboo in American culture. On the eve of World War II, mixed-race marriage was illegal in most states, politicians argued for segregated facilities in order to prevent race mixing, and interracial couples risked public hostility, legal action, even violence. Yet, sixty years later, black-white marriage is no longer illegal or a divisive political issue, and the number of such couples and their mixed-race children has risen dramatically. Renee Romano explains how and why such marriages have gained acceptance, and what this tells us about race relations in contemporary America. Although significant numbers of both blacks and whites still oppose interracial marriage, larger historical forces have greatly diminished overt racism and shaped a new consciousness about mixed-race families. The social revolutions of the 1950s and '60s (with their emphasis on individualism and nonconformity), the legal sanctions of new civil rights laws, and a decline in the institutional stability of marriage have all contributed to the growing tolerance for interracial relationships. Telling the powerful stories of couples who married across the color line, Romano shows how cultural shifts are lived by individuals, and how they have enabled mixed couples to build supportive communities for themselves and their children. However, Romano warns that the erosion of this taboo does not mean that racism no longer exists. The history of interracial marriage helps us understand the extent to which America has overcome its racist past, and how much further we must go to achieve meaningful racial equality.
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Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England
2003
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Copyright © 2003 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Romano, Renee Christine. Race mixing : Black-white marriage in postwar America / Renee C. Romano. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-674-01033-7 1. Interracial marriage—United States. 2. United States—Race relations. I. Title. HQ1031 .R65 2003 306.84⬘6—dc21 2002032929
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Acknowledgments xi
Prologue: Explaining a Taboo
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1 The Unintended Consequences of War 2 The Dangers of “Race Mixing” 3 Ambivalent Acceptance
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4 Not Just Commies and Beatniks
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5 Culture Wars and Schoolhouse Doors
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6 The Rights Revolutions and Interracial Marriage 7 Talking Black and Sleeping White 8 Eroded but Not Erased
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Epilogue: Is Love the Answer? Notes 297
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Index 357
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Black soldiers socializing at an Italian Red Cross Club
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Dorothy Lebohner and Warren Sutton in 1960
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Front page from the White Sentinel, July 1954
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American Nationalist postcard Richard a