Loving Vs Virginia Research Paper

In the year 1958, Mildred and Richard Loving were ripped out of their bed at 2 A.M., arrested, and thrown into jail because they were an interracial couple, and therefore labeled as felons in the state of Virginia ("Loving v. Virginia"). Miscegenation, or the intimacy between a caucasian person and a person of a different race, has held a stigma in the United States since the beginning of institutionalized slavery in the US. US slavery began during the year of 1619, in the colony of Jamestown, Virginia. Slavery was then abolished in 1865, when the American Civil War (1861-1865) ended ("Slavery in America"). Despite the abolition of slavery, equality was not fully reached. The United States then went through the Reconstruction period (1865-1877),

Many slave owners thought that it was their legal right to abuse their slaves. Slaves were seen as property; and either house slaves or laborer slaves. Some women involved themselves in sexual relationships with their masters willingly because they enjoyed the privileges of working in the house rather than working in the field ("Slavery and the Making of America"). Slave owners would usually keep their beautiful slaves in the house, where they would be abused. One is able to see an example of this in the novel, Homegoing, where Ness, a slave that had been recently sold, was noticed for her beauty and then sent to work in the house. Once the slave master saw that she had severe scarring as a result from much physical abuse, Ness was deemed unattractive and was sent to work out of the house. If Ness had not been subject to such harsh abuse, she would have been worth more in her owner's eyes. Ness would have most likely become a victim of rape at the hands of her slave master (Gyasi). Most of the wives of the abusing masters were not oblivious to this abuse and as a result, became very jealous of slaves that were receiving their husbands’ attention. As a result from this jealousy, African American women were labeled as lustful and sexual; while caucasian women were viewed as prudish and innocent. Once slavery was abolished in

In 2008, Bob Jones University discontinued their discriminatory and anti-miscegenistic policies, although they only apologized for their racist arguments in 2008 ("Bob Jones University Apologizes"). Over time, the rate of interracial marriages has increased, but these rates are not equal. For example, 40.6 percent of Japanese people and 53.7 percent of Native Americans are in an interracial marriage, but only 1.2 percent of black females and 3.6 percent of black males are in a interracial marriage. The least common interracial couple is between a caucasian and a black person ("Interracial Marriage"). In Homegoing, Marjorie, an African American high school student, begins to have romantic feelings towards her friend, Graham, who recently emigrated from Germany. Graham attempts to build a relationship with Marjorie and is subsequently frowned upon by his peers. Graham also attempts to ask Marjorie to go to prom with him but is told that it would not be appropriate by the school’s principal and his father (Gyasi). This is an example of how society must progress and become more accepting in order for all relationships to be considered