Throughout history, society has tried to limit our rights, tell us what we can and can’t do or tell us what is wrong and what’s right. In the story “Like Mexicans” by Gary Soto, the author describes one idea that was very much frowned upon through the eras: interracial marriage. The love between two people of different races or cultures has been looked down on for decades. How society views interracial couples has changed during the past couple generations. In each generation, the number of interracial couples has grown, as well as the acceptance rate and the struggles the couples faced throughout their lifetimes.
Between the years 1940 to 1960 was the widely influential generation of the Baby Boomers. This generation describes the babies that …show more content…
According to scientific studies at the University of Nebraska, less than 3% of the United States population between the years 1940 and 1960 was made up entirely of interracial couples. Many people during this generation chose to marry the same race, as expected of them, to avoid conflict like the bottom 3%.
In addition to their being few interracial couples during the Baby Boomer generation, there was also little to no acceptance from any peers. You were shamed upon by, not only strangers, but many times your friends and family, too. However, this did not stop everyone. One of the most well-known interracial couples in history occurred during the Baby Boomer generation. Richard loving (white) and his wife Mildred Loving (black) were hauled out of their house and arrested due to the fact that their home state of Virginia had active laws against the marriage of different races.
These multi-racial couples experienced a numerous amount of struggles throughout their lifetimes. Many faced verbal or even physical abuse and found it almost impossible to live in a world of constant hatred towards them and their spouse. Many couples were forced to move from their home state to a slightly more accepting state that lacked laws against their …show more content…
Generation X is the term used to label the people born between the years 1960 and 1980. By this time, states that had banned interracial marriage had begun to remove that laws preventing it. For example, in Florida in 1864, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that laws banning interracial sex violates the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Later on, in 1967, other states such as Alabama followed by lifting bans on interracial marriage, as well, due to the violation of the 14th Amendment. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote for the court: “The freedom to marry has been long recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men…” Although the rights have been granted, some still thought of interracial marriage as morally wrong. The idea of interracial marriage has appeared more and more in grossing films. One of the most well-known movies depicting interracial marriage during Generation X is the film “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” directed by Joel Zwick. The film describes a Greek family that follows Greek tradition to the tee. Many Greek families push you to marry someone else of Greek descent. The movie tells of a Greek woman who falls in love with a Jewish-American man and shows how the two families clash. In the end, the family, like many other people during Generation X, accepted the couple and overlooked the racial differences (Zwick). In addition to
Between the years 1940 to 1960 was the widely influential generation of the Baby Boomers. This generation describes the babies that …show more content…
According to scientific studies at the University of Nebraska, less than 3% of the United States population between the years 1940 and 1960 was made up entirely of interracial couples. Many people during this generation chose to marry the same race, as expected of them, to avoid conflict like the bottom 3%.
In addition to their being few interracial couples during the Baby Boomer generation, there was also little to no acceptance from any peers. You were shamed upon by, not only strangers, but many times your friends and family, too. However, this did not stop everyone. One of the most well-known interracial couples in history occurred during the Baby Boomer generation. Richard loving (white) and his wife Mildred Loving (black) were hauled out of their house and arrested due to the fact that their home state of Virginia had active laws against the marriage of different races.
These multi-racial couples experienced a numerous amount of struggles throughout their lifetimes. Many faced verbal or even physical abuse and found it almost impossible to live in a world of constant hatred towards them and their spouse. Many couples were forced to move from their home state to a slightly more accepting state that lacked laws against their …show more content…
Generation X is the term used to label the people born between the years 1960 and 1980. By this time, states that had banned interracial marriage had begun to remove that laws preventing it. For example, in Florida in 1864, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that laws banning interracial sex violates the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Later on, in 1967, other states such as Alabama followed by lifting bans on interracial marriage, as well, due to the violation of the 14th Amendment. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote for the court: “The freedom to marry has been long recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men…” Although the rights have been granted, some still thought of interracial marriage as morally wrong. The idea of interracial marriage has appeared more and more in grossing films. One of the most well-known movies depicting interracial marriage during Generation X is the film “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” directed by Joel Zwick. The film describes a Greek family that follows Greek tradition to the tee. Many Greek families push you to marry someone else of Greek descent. The movie tells of a Greek woman who falls in love with a Jewish-American man and shows how the two families clash. In the end, the family, like many other people during Generation X, accepted the couple and overlooked the racial differences (Zwick). In addition to