Interracial Relations: Marriages The United States has witnessed a considerable amount of social and cultural desegregation between African-Americans and Caucasians. However, despite years of desegregation, social and cultural differences still exist. One of these differences that still exists is in the institution of marriage. Americans have been and are continually moving slowly away from segregation. In the past forty years, a multitude of changes have transformed schools, jobs, voting booths, neighborhoods, hotels, restaurants and even the wedding altar, facilitating tolerance for racial diversity (Norman 108). In the 1960's, when housing discrimination was outlawed, many African-Americans moved into mainly Caucasian neighborhoods. The steadily growing areas in the west and southwest are least segregated, because these areas never had the entrenched African-American and Caucasian sections of town (Up For Separatist 30). Even more visible signs of desegregation can be seen in the areas of education. A study done by the University of Michigan shows that integration on campuses occurs on a regular basis. The racial lines are crossed routinely; about 50% of African-Americans and 15% of Caucasians reportedly study together. Eating patterns also share the same similarities. At a social level, there has been a steady convergence of opinion on a variety of racial issues. Since 1972, surveys have asked whether the respondent would favor a law making inter-racial marriages illegal. In 1980, the results showed that 30.1% of Caucasians and 18.3% of African-Americans favor such a law. By 1994, the collected data showed 14.7% and 3.2% respectively. Similar trends have also been observed in busing and even integrated social clubs. (Up For Separatist 30) A simple analysis shows that on the surface desegregation is moving in the right direction. Notwithstanding these examples of desegregation, a deeper analysis shows that there are still signs of ...
