Historical Changes in Interracial Relations in America
America is currently an epitome of equality and good relation between various races and democracy. However, it has not always been like this. America has come a long way. Interracial relations in America, especially relations between whites and Blacks, date back to the fifteenth century when the slave trade was at the foundation of economic development. For a long time, races in America have been interelating politically, socially and economically; the nature of these relations, however, kept changing. This paper outlines various historical events that shaped the current relations between various races in America politically, socially, and economically, in their chronological order, as outlined by Martha Hodes in Sex, Love, Race: Crossing Boundaries in North American History.
Early in the colonial era, towards the end of seventeenth century, a need for integration was seen. Most of the white immigrants who arrived in America were single men, and they surely needed wives. The Black and American Indian communities in America at the time were their only hope of getting a partner. This sexual interaction produced interracial children and some marriages. Interracial sexual relations were seen more in the eighteenth century. The story of an African-American prostitute with a German pastor epitomizes the power of sex to integrate people. During this time, marriages between African-Americans and Indians were seen. This fostered unity between the two races who later united against the whites in a bid to gain equality. The birth of mixed-heritage children was central to good interracial relations during this time. However, colonial white society saw the ballooning of interracial marriages as dangerous and decided to cut these short. This was when sexual relations between whites and other races were termed as ‘shameful matches’. This was meant to prevent white men from falling for women of other races, to enhance segregation which was beneficial economically to the whites. It was these activities that shaped the reforms that were seen in the 1920s.
Early in the twentieth century, there were attempts to integrate the Black community with the whites in the aftermath of the civil war in Virginia. This was called the progressive period. It was marked by numerous political reforms including the nineteenth amendment, which sought to achieve female suffrage and expose the corruption that was endemic in government institutions. These reforms were spearheaded by activists, a good number of whom were female. Most of the women activists were middle-class whites. They were mainly concerned with issues of female suffrage, prohibition, education, and public health. It was also during this time that there were major constitutional amendments intended to promote democracy.
A report in 1923 identified the scientific community as a barrier to this integration; their love for the controversial Cox’s publications was also exposed (Hodes 401). Three years later, Burleigh, an activist, emerged as key in the fight for interracial equality. She recommended repatriation as part of the solution to interracial inequality in Virginia. She also pioneered legislation that intended to protect Blacks. Burleigh’s efforts and those of ASCOA were met with resistance as even more stringent definitions of ‘white’ were adopted in 1926. This definition was adopted in a bid to correct an earlier definition which allowed educated American Indians to masquerade as white when they were Black. Again, mixed-heritage individuals were at the center of these amendments – it was becoming hard to erect clear boundaries between people to segregate them based on their race. Burleigh was also a feminist. She strongly supported the controversial literary work by Cabell and Jurgen, whose themes mainly focused on male chivalry and the objectification of female sexuality.
These leads us to the mid-twentieth century where activism led to some fascination with interracial marriages and sex. In this now free and liberal America, the previous legislation that had limited interracial sexual activities and marriages had been outlawed. Moreover, various sexual reforms that redefined rape and the age of sexual consent had been passed. Rose Hum Lee, an American of Chinese origin epitomized these activists, who encouraged integration by redefining the importance of sexual relations and interracial marriages, in the achievement of a homogenous American society.
Rose Hum Lee was another activist involved in the fight for racial integration. She emphasized cultural assimilation as a solution to racial disparity. In a 1956 publication, Lee identified cultural disparity as the main cause of difficulty that people of Chinese origin suffered in America. Earlier, Lee had been the first among sociologists studying the ‘oriental problem’ to use the word integration (Hodes 456). Her predecessors of the 1920s seemed to discredit interracial sexual relations in the search for social integration. They argued that sex was just physical contact and did not necessarily lead to emotional and social attachments. Lee argued that interracial sex was the only fusion that would surely dissolve the interracial disparities between various races. Lee’s arguments were based on an observation that sexual relations led mostly to strong emotional attachments that could even lead to the institution of marriage. Marriage is in itself is a symbol of unity, peace, collaboration, acceptability, and equality. Marriage between various races, therefore, fostered collaboration, hence the development of a homogenous American society. Sexual relations also led to an increase in number of mixed-heritage individuals who were accepted on either side of the fence, hence fostering interracial cooperation.
It was during the middle of the twentieth century, that another white female activist, Sarah Patton Boyle, emerged. Patton Boyle was born in an aristocratic white family in Virginia, and was well-educated (Hodes 492). Like other whites of her social status, she was only allowed to interact formally with Blacks; this was called the Southern code. However, she did not know much about them and the situations that surrounded them. She even thought that Blacks did not interact with whites by choice.
Patton Boyle only came to know of the plight of the Black man when she heard her father mention that finally a Black man would be admitted to Virginia Law School, after he filed a suit (Hodes 494). Patton Boyle was surprised that a highly qualified lawyer could not be admitted to Virginia Law School, just because he was Black, in 1950. She contacted the man, Gregory Swanson, after feeling that segregation was surely wrong in a bid to atone for her race. This was the origin of the loose relationship that ensued between the two after Patton Boyle divorced her husband Roger Boyle, following claims of incompatibility. Her interaction with Swanson went through numerous ups and downs, and seemed to remind her that she knew very little about Black people. It was only in the late 1950s, for instance, that she learned that words meant a lot. She had written an article she thought Mr. Swanson would fancy, only for him to respond to it so coldly. She later went through the article and discovered that it was indeed offensive in both wording and implication; the article implied that she viewed Blacks as inferior beings, and that it was surprising, and somewhat a threat to the white society, when a Black man defies all odds to make it to the top. Understanding this was pivotal to enhancing integration between whites and Blacks.
Patton Boyle met T.J. Sellers, the editor of a local paper, through her interactions with Swanson (Hodes 497). She enrolled in Sellers’s classes that looked to bridge the knowledge gap between Blacks and whites. It was through Sellers’s paper, the Tribune, that Patton was able to advance most of her thoughts by way of her articles. One of her key articles, ‘Southerners will like integration’, was met with resentment among white southerners, who saw it as a call to encourage much despised interracial sex. This was a misinterpretation, as Patton only intended to show the whites that integration could be done amicably. Despite the massive public resistance to the article by white southerners, many of them privately agreed with Patton Boyle. This was a good step towards the achievement of integration.
Patton’s relentless fight for equality and feminism led her to be part of the grant march in Washington in 1963, advocating for jobs and freedom. Her activities were thwarted greatly when she was arrested in 1964, along with eleven other activists in a demonstration. Her activist activities came to a halt when she retired in 1967 (Hodes 513).
The efforts of the political and social activists of the twentieth century and before did not go to waste. It was these efforts that shaped contemporary America. As mentioned above, America epitomizes a nation with perfect interracial interactions and collaboration; a nation where racism and inequality are things of the past. In contemporary America, interracial marriages are the norm.
In modern America, there are many adults who are a product of interracial marriage and they are proud of this. The mixed-heritage population has been suggested to be growing at a pace three times more than that of the general population (Multiracial in America para 3). Recent research shows that 60% of mixed-heritage adults are totally proud of their interracial origins (Multiracial in America para 6). A 2013 survey showed that as many as nine million Americans identify themselves as more than one race when asked about their racial identity (Multiracial in America para 7). This, in essence, confirms the importance of interracial marriages to the achievement of integration in America.
The fight for racial equality was fought alongside the struggle for gender equality and democracy. Democracy as an ethic was greatly enhanced by the historical events that led to interracial unity, collaboration and equality. This was epitomized by the period of American literature and social protest which occurred between 1890 and 1930 (McDermott 11), where activists like Burleigh thrived. It was during this period that activists fought vigorously for better pay, women rights and racial equality. Their fight enhanced democracy as a fundamental social ethic, and women were allowed to engage in politics more after this period.
Between 1903 and 1950, the Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL) arose, an organization which looked to unite women against the political and social dominance of men. Among the agenda of WTUL was enhancing democracy. Again, Burleigh, who also fought for interracial equality, was known to support WTUL.
The foundation of NAACP in 1909 and its effects epitomized the influence that mixed-heritage individuals had on the achievement of interracial equality (McDermott 23). NAACP was a union of mixed-heritage individuals who looked to calm their opposing halves and enhance interracial collaboration. As earlier alluded to, Patton Boyle was a close ally of NAACP during her time in activism.
1920 saw the nineteenth amendment that looked to promote women’s suffrage and alleviate gender inequality. It also sought to ensure women participated more in democratic activities. Burleigh was known to have been a staunch supporter of this.
In 1942, civil rights protests ensued. This was after women had entered the workforce in large numbers as men went to war. Patton Boyle is known to have taken part in some of these protests (Hodes 492).
In conclusion, it is evident that America has come a long way in terms of racial equality and democracy. In all of these struggles, people of mixed-heritage were at the center of their success. People of mixed-heritage, and the process that led to their uprising, were important in ensuring collaboration between races. Moreover, as epitomized by the role of NAACP, they were crucial in the fight for democracy. As Rose Hum Lee concluded, sexuality and the products of sexuality have been important in shaping the history of America, and making America what it is today.
Works Cited
Hodes, Martha E. Sex, Love, Race: Crossing Boundaries in North American History. New York [u.a.]: New York Univ. Press, 1999. Print.
McDermott, John F. M. Restoring Democracy to America: How to Free Markets and Politics from the Corporate Culture of Business and Government. University Park, Penn: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2010. Print
Multiracial in America. Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project. Pew Research Center, 11 June 2015. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.
