Present Trends of Interracial Marriage in America

Abstract

The issue of interracial marriage has received a broad attention in the United States. The interracial marriage was once seen as taboo in the country but today situation is very changed in relation to interracial marriages. The recent trends reflect that interracial marriage is an increasing trend in the country that brings various advantages to the nations. This paper aims to investigate the trends of interracial marriage from history till today.

Table of Contents

Abstract2

Introduction4

Background5

Discussion6

Present Trends of Interracial Marriage7

Advantages of Interracial Marriages10

Disadvantages of Interracial Marriages10

Future of Interracial Marriages11

Conclusion11

References13

Present Trends of Interracial Marriage in America

Introduction

The United States of America is identified as a land of diversity where desegregation between different races has become a common element of the society. However, it is also a fact that despite of the desegregation, the country has also observed some cultural as well as social differences (Judice, 2008). The major example of such differences is the marriage, which is now recognized as interracial marriage in the United States due to differences in race of partners. No doubt, there have been various changes in the country over the past two decades that not only transformed the education, social, system or political systems but also transformed the institution of marriage in terms of interracial relationship (Smith& Hattery, 2009). This establishes that people in America are now moving away from segregation to desegregation of society. It would not be wrong to say that the act of desegregation is playing a significant role in promoting tolerance for racial or ethnic diversity.

The topic of marriage of couples with different racial background has received a widespread attention from various sociological, academic and community circles. In fact researches believe that interracial marriages will continue to rise in the country due to different factors. According to recent reports, a significant increase of 15.2% has been seen in the marriages of couples having different racial background in the year 2011. The recent trend also shows that Hispanic and Asians can be seen as two main participating groups of interracial marriages in the United States (Smith& Hattery, 2009). This paper aims to discuss the present trends of interracial marriage in the United States.

Background

American society before the decade of 1960 had little tolerance for other races and people had greater support for law against interracial marriages. However, during 1960s the American attitude towards racial diversity and interracial marriages started to change with a considerable tolerance. This was the era when discrimination was recognized as an illegal and immoral act by the implementation of laws in the country (Judice, 2008). This gave freedom to African-Americans to move to different Caucasian areas from south to north and east to west. This movement encouraged an integration of African-Americans into American society as equal citizen and resulted as a clear indication of change towards desegregation in many areas from education to employment.

In fact, racial distance continued to decrease that allowed more than 45 percent of African-Americans and 15 percent Caucasians to study ...