This Week in Civil Rights HistoryPosted in Articles, History, Law, Media Archive, United States on 2015-11-26 04:01Z by Steven |
This Week in Civil Rights History
New York State United Teachers
2015-09-20
September 20th – Maryland Passes First Miscegenation Law
On this day in 1664, Maryland passed the first Miscegenation Law, banning inter-racial marriage in the United States. As African slavery became more widespread, both laws and customs became more restrictive. The impetus for the ban was their offspring. What legal status should a person of mixed race be afforded? Maryland also barred slaves from owning property. In the West, miscegenation laws applied to Mexicans and to American Indians. A sexual caste system was in place. During Reconstruction, Radical Republicans overturned some miscegenation laws. The Black Codes then emerged to limit all interaction between black and white. White supremacy held that non-whites where genetically inferior. In 1958, Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, a black woman, were married in Washington, D.C. When they returned to Virginia they were arrested. A nine-year legal battle ensued. In 1967, the Supreme Court declared miscegenation laws unconstitutional.