Along With the Changing Demographics

Along with the changing demographics and diversity in the United States, it is interesting to note that black-white marriages increased from 65,000 in 1970 to 422,000 in 2005, according to Census Bureau figures. Factoring in all racial combinations, Stanford University sociologist Michael Rosenfeld calculates that more than 7% of America's 59 million married couples in 2005 were interracial, compared to less than 2% in 1970. In order to see if such marriages are less difficult and problematic than in earlier generations, I did a search on the social sciences databanks for interracial marriages.

One of these articles by Yancey consists of a qualitative study of 21 interracial couples -- White and black, white and Asian and white and Hispanic. Based on previous literature, Yancey formulated that black and white interracial couples will have a more societal challenges than the white and Hispanic or white and Asian couples. Earlier research results indicating that marriages to blacks are less accepted than other forms of interracial relationships supports the idea that the social environment of a mixed marriage with a black differs from a non-black interracial marriage.

Further, the plausibility of a black/nonblack distinction in interracial marriages suggests that the race of a spouse impacts how whites reconstruct previous racial understandings. Yancey predicted "that majority group members married to blacks experience interracial marriage differently and that their marriages alter their racial attitudes in contrasting ways from majority group members married to other racial minorities" (198). Yancey interviewed each of the couples, asking general questions as well as more specific ones regarding racial attitudes.

He asked respondents if being married to someone of a different race changed their perception of their own race, of the race of their spouse and/or of racial issues in the United States and if the marriage had altered their racial identity. He also asked how their marriage altered their perceptions on affirmative action, discrimination, hate crimes legislation, racial profiling, reparations for racial minorities and immigration laws.

The results from the interviews suggest that majority group members married to blacks have a distinct experience from those married to non-black people of color. The qualitatively higher level of hostility that black-white marriages face make these relationships more difficult for African-Americans, as easily seen in the lower number of blacks who outmarry, as well as for whites who marry blacks. Yancey's study illustrates that these whites who marry blacks have more visceral experiences of racism than whites who marry non-black people of color.

Whites who intermarry use their changed social status to reconsider earlier thoughts about societal views on race. Those who marry blacks, especially, may go beyond theoretical ideas, since they often have to deal with racism thrust forcefully into their lives. The findings indicate that premarital racial preparation is inadequate for informing whites of the possible ramifications of their interracial decisions. Majority group members are apt to have a difficult time understanding the total impact of being linked to a black until it occurs.

Just as race is a socially constructed concept, racial understanding is also arbitrarily determined. The experiences of whites who observe racism first hand are certain to play an important role in the way they can learn to reconstruct their former understanding of racial issues and earlier developed.