Interracial Friendship, Dating, and Marriage

Jim Crow laws enacted after the U.S. Civil War mandated racial segregation to restrict or prevent relations between Blacks and Whites and to keep them separate in public places such as restaurants, buses, trains and train stations, schools, and restrooms. In its 1896 ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson, the U.S. Supreme Court sanctioned the “separate but equal” doctrine, and racial segregation in public educational institutions was not ruled unconstitutional until the landmark 1954 case of Brown v. Board of Education. Both legal barriers and informal negative attitudes toward Black–White interracial relationships have complicated the public and private lives of many Americans and continue to do so. Many invisible barriers remain that continue to separate racial groups and socialize people. Interracial friendships and romantic relationships continue ...