miscegenation

Learning about the laws regarding miscegenation really hit home for me. I had known that a lot of people in the past saw it wrong for a caucasion person and someone of another race to marry but I had never known that there were even laws against such marriages. This affects my life, personally, because I am in a mixed-race relationship. My boyfriend is full Native American (from three different tribes but mostly Nez Perce). Thinking about the laws I started to reflect on my relationship and realized there were times when we were looked down upon for dating each other because of race. My family had never liked the idea of us being together. They would make cruel remarks to me which time and time again I ignore. But it’s not just my family that was confused by our relationship. In the very beginning, his friends were appalled that I was white. When he had talked about me they had pictured a Native American but it had just never occurred to him to describe me based on my skin pigment. However, when others asked me about him that was always the first thing I mentioned. I found this disturbing because it always feels wrong when a white person mentions race.

 In ways, I am extremely ashamed of being white because of the atrocities my race has committed. I feel responsible for things that I had nothing to do with. I don’t know if my interest in people of other cultures is me subconsciously trying to compensate for this guilt. Even so, I can’t imagine living in a time where it was illegal for me to be with someone I loved because of a difference in heritage. I am extremely thankful to not be limited by those laws.