They married in 1968 as a nation fought for civil rights. 50 years later an interracial couple looks back

Posted in Articles, Family/Parenting, Media Archive, United States on 2018-06-13 13:45Z by Steven

They married in 1968 as a nation fought for civil rights. 50 years later an interracial couple looks back

The Los Angeles Times
2018-05-29

Colleen Shalby, Community Engagement Editor

They married in 1968 as a nation fought for civil rights. 50 years later an interracial couple looks back
Charles and Janice Tyler are photographed in a hallway lined with family photographs including their wedding day photo, at right, at their Huntington Beach home. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Their wedding day was bookended by the deaths of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in April and Robert F. Kennedy in June. The Vietnam War raged abroad as a fight for civil rights continued at home.

For many, 1968 was marked by violence, bloodshed and protest. For Janice, a white woman, and Charles, a black man, 1968 marked the unlikely beginning of a 50-year marriage filled with four children and 11 grandchildren.

Interracial marriages were by no means a societal norm the year the Tylers wed. The Supreme Court’s ruling in Loving v. Virginia, which struck down the remaining laws that banned such unions, was handed down just one year before. Charles and Janice were not directly affected by the case – Illinois wasn’t one of the remaining 16 states. They did face prejudice, nonetheless.

“Back then, you just didn’t see black and white,” Charles said about the racial divide…

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In Celebration of Loving Day: Raising Multiracial Kids

Posted in Articles, Family/Parenting, Media Archive, United States on 2018-06-13 13:16Z by Steven

In Celebration of Loving Day: Raising Multiracial Kids

PBS Parents
Expert Tips & Advice
2018-06-12

Marj Kleinman

One year ago today, I met six-year-old Mattie (below) at a Loving Day event. Families had gathered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Loving vs. Virginia, the 1967 landmark Supreme Court decision that made interracial marriage legal across the United States.

Between blowing bubbles and dancing, Mattie told me: “Today is a special day and it doesn’t matter if you’re black, brown or any other color; it’s just about your love.”

Her dad, Allen, shared, “It’s important to be here because we want the future to be brighter, safer and more diverse for them. We want to show them that that exists now and make it more commonplace going forward.”

In the last 50 years, the number of interracial marriages has increased dramatically — as has public acceptance of these marriages. Yet parents still face a variety of challenges around raising multiracial kids. Allen and his wife, Kelly (with their kids, below) said that they sometimes face stares and the question, “Is that really your child?”…

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