When Did Each State Legalize Interracial Marriage?

In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Lovings, upholding that distinctions based on race were not constitutional. This decision led to the legalization of interracial marriage in all states, with intermarriage increasing steadily since then. The case, Loving v. Virginia, declared all state anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional.

The availability of legally recognized same-sex marriage in the United States expanded from one state (Massachusetts) in 2004 to all fifty states in 2015. States each have separate marriage laws, which must adhere to rulings by the Supreme Court of the United States. Interracial marriage has become a sign of integration into mainstream US society, as seen in California’s increasing diversification and the over 200% increase in the state’s mixed race population from 2010 to 2020 alone.

The first legal black-white marriage in the U.S. was between Black-American professor William G. Allen and a white student, Mary King, in 1853. By November 2000, interracial marriage had been legal in every state for more than three decades, thanks to the Lovings’ 1967 ruling.

Interracial marriage has been a significant factor in the integration of different races into mainstream US society, with the first recorded interracial marriage in 1614.

When did interracial marriage become legal in Massachusetts?

Anti-miscegenation laws repealed through 1887StateFirst law passedNoteKansas1855Law repealed before reaching statehoodMaine1821Massachusetts1705Passed the 1913 law preventing out-of-state couples from circumventing their home-state anti-miscegenation laws, which itself was repealed on July 31, 2008Michigan1838.

In the United States, many U.S. states historically had anti-miscegenation laws which prohibited interracial marriage and, in some states, interracial sexual relations. Some of these laws predated the establishment of the United States, and some dated to the later 17th or early 18th century, a century or more after the complete racialization of slavery.1 Nine states never enacted anti-miscegenation laws, and 25 states had repealed their laws by 1967. In that year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Loving v. Virginia that such laws are unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.23.

The term miscegenation was first used in 1863, during the American Civil War, by journalists to discredit the abolitionist movement by stirring up debate over the prospect of interracial marriage after the abolition of slavery.4.

Typically defining mixed-race marriages or sexual relations as a felony, these laws also prohibited the issuance of marriage licenses and the solemnization of weddings between mixed-race couples and prohibited the officiation of such ceremonies. Sometimes, the individuals attempting to marry would not be held guilty of miscegenation itself, but felony charges of adultery or fornication would be brought against them instead. All anti-miscegenation laws banned marriage between whites and non-white groups, primarily black people, but often also Native Americans and Asian Americans.5.

When did Texas allow interracial marriage?

Anti-miscegenation laws overturned on June 12, 1967, by Loving v. VirginiaStateFirst law passedLaw repealedOklahoma18971969South Carolina17171970, 1972 (law) 1998 (constitution)Tennessee17411978Texas18371969.

In the United States, many U.S. states historically had anti-miscegenation laws which prohibited interracial marriage and, in some states, interracial sexual relations. Some of these laws predated the establishment of the United States, and some dated to the later 17th or early 18th century, a century or more after the complete racialization of slavery.1 Nine states never enacted anti-miscegenation laws, and 25 states had repealed their laws by 1967. In that year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Loving v. Virginia that such laws are unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.23.

The term miscegenation was first used in 1863, during the American Civil War, by journalists to discredit the abolitionist movement by stirring up debate over the prospect of interracial marriage after the abolition of slavery.4.

Typically defining mixed-race marriages or sexual relations as a felony, these laws also prohibited the issuance of marriage licenses and the solemnization of weddings between mixed-race couples and prohibited the officiation of such ceremonies. Sometimes, the individuals attempting to marry would not be held guilty of miscegenation itself, but felony charges of adultery or fornication would be brought against them instead. All anti-miscegenation laws banned marriage between whites and non-white groups, primarily black people, but often also Native Americans and Asian Americans.5.

When did interracial marriage become legal in Chicago?

The 1829 Illinois law said: No person of color could marry a white person. The law against interracial marriage was repealed in 1874.

By Lyle This post is over three years old. The information may be out of date. This post is over 3 years old. February 20, 2015.

As we approach February 26, the anniversary of the day same-sex marriage began in Chicago, it is interesting to look at the history of marriage restrictions in Chicago.

Before Illinois became a state. I haven’t researched this period much because marriage wasn’t regulated much. In early Chicago, Native American marriage customs were the norm. These customs were fairly free. Who and how many could get married was up to the individual and their family.

When did interracial marriage become legal in Hawaii?

However, interracial marriage in the United States has been fully legal in all U.S. states since the 1967 Supreme Court decision, Loving v.

When was interracial marriage legalized in New York?

However, interracial marriage in the United States has been fully legal in all U.S. states since the 1967 Supreme Court decision, Loving v.

When did interracial marriage become legal in Arizona?

Interracial marriage has been legal in the United States since at least 1967. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that anti-miscegenation laws were unconstitutional. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote in the court opinion that the freedom to marry someone of another race resides with the individual. Federal law protects interracial marriages since 2022.

People used to oppose interracial marriage because of religion. Most white Southern evangelicals believed that racial segregation, including in marriage, was God’s will. They said that recognizing interracial couples would go against their religious beliefs. This was the view of many evangelical churches until the late 20th century. Since Loving, states have removed their bans. The last to do so was Alabama in a 2000 referendum.

In the 1950s, only 5% of people approved of interracial marriage. By 2021, that number had risen to 94%. The proportion of interracial marriages has also risen. In 1967, only 3% of marriages were interracial. By 2019, that number had risen to 19%.

What was the interracial marriage law in Virginia?

Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1, was a landmark civil rights decision of the U.S. Supreme Court which ruled that laws banning interracial marriage violate the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

87 S. Ct. 1817; 18 L. Ed. 2d 1010; 1967 U.S. LEXIS 1082.

Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1, was a landmark civil rights decision of the U.S. Supreme Court which ruled that laws banning interracial marriage violate the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.12 Beginning in 2013, the decision was cited as precedent in U.S. federal court decisions ruling that restrictions on same-sex marriage in the United States were unconstitutional, including in the Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges.3.

The case involved Richard Loving, a white man, and his wife Mildred Loving, a Black woman.a In 1959, the Lovings were sentenced to prison for violating Virginias Racial Integrity Act of 1924, which criminalized marriage between people classified as white and people classified as colored. After unsuccessfully appealing their conviction to the Supreme Court of Virginia, they appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the Racial Integrity Act was unconstitutional.

When did interracial marriage become legal in South Africa?

In June 1985, South Africa ended its ban on interracial marriage. Suzanne Leclerc and Protas Madlala were the first to marry under the new rules.

When was interracial marriage legalized in California?

The California Supreme Court struck down both the 1943 statute requiring race on marriage licenses and the states much older ban on interracial marriage on October 1, 1948 in the case of Perez v. Sharp. Nearly 20 years later, on June 12, 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously decided Loving v. Virginia, declaring bans on interracial marriage unconstitutional and striking down such laws in the 16 total states that still had them. This decision overturned the Courts 1883 decision in Pace v. Alabama, which had upheld the constitutionality of laws banning interracial relations, enabling those laws to persist throughout the country for more than 80 additional years.

Even after the law changed, social and political support for interracial marriage bans lingered. In 2000, Alabama became the last state to repeal its interracial marriage ban when residents voted to remove an anti-miscegenation provision from the state constitution—more than 30 years after Loving made it unenforceable.

Learn more about the history of racial injustice and white Americans resistance to civil rights for Black people in EJIs report, Segregation in America.

When did California legalize interracial marriage?

The California Supreme Court struck down both the 1943 statute requiring race on marriage licenses and the states much older ban on interracial marriage on October 1, 1948 in the case of Perez v. Sharp. Nearly 20 years later, on June 12, 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously decided Loving v. Virginia, declaring bans on interracial marriage unconstitutional and striking down such laws in the 16 total states that still had them. This decision overturned the Courts 1883 decision in Pace v. Alabama, which had upheld the constitutionality of laws banning interracial relations, enabling those laws to persist throughout the country for more than 80 additional years.

Even after the law changed, social and political support for interracial marriage bans lingered. In 2000, Alabama became the last state to repeal its interracial marriage ban when residents voted to remove an anti-miscegenation provision from the state constitution—more than 30 years after Loving made it unenforceable.

Learn more about the history of racial injustice and white Americans resistance to civil rights for Black people in EJIs report, Segregation in America.