Interracial Relationships Essay -- Interracial Couples Marriage

Why do people stare at interracial couples and feel betrayed by the person of the same race? How must the couple feel when people stare at them everywhere they go? In June of 1958, a white man and a half African-American and half American-Indian woman, both native citizens of Virginia, wed in South America. Not long after the marriage the couple returned back to the state of Virginia where they decided to establish a happy family. In October of 1958 the couple received an indictment charge, stating that the marriage had violated Virginia’s law of no interracial marriages. The couple was found guilty and was sentenced to one year in jail; however, the judge saw no harm in the marriage. If the couple would leave the state of Virginia, and not come back until another twenty-five years, he would suspend the sentence. Interracial marriages go through trials and tribulations. Family acceptance is important to interracial relationships. One way a couple can tell if their family approves of the wedding is by how many people attend the ceremony. â€Å"Of these ceremonies, whether religious or civil, the gatherings were small with only a few close relatives or friends attending† (Porterfield 103). Family members, who do not agree with interracial relationships, will show how they feel by not attending the wedding. Close family members will support the bride and groom but not the marriage itself. After the marriage, the newly weds will sense tension at one another’s family gatherings (Porterfield 105). A newlywed couple needs to feel a substantial amount of acceptance because marriage is one of the biggest steps in one’s life, and newlyweds need to know they have not made the wrong decision. The family of one’s partner can cau... ...cult to do in society. Society figures that once a person has a drop of black in them, they are considered black not white. As part of life in this society, they must learn to deal with conflict such as racism directed towards them from the individuals, who need to fit everyone into a particular category (Rosenblatt, Karis, Powell 193). If a parent was to check the white box and the appearance of their child seems to be blacker than white, it can be seen as a problem. In conclusion, society needs to consider the feelings of interracial couples. A person may not agree with interracial relationships, but they do not need to discriminate against them. Even today in the year 2002, society has its problems with interracial relationships. Through education and the way couples raise their children, the problem or problems facing interracial couples will diminish.