Interracial marriages have become very popular in our society today however, there was a time in America where the color of your skin determined so many things including the people you could date or marry. Loving vs Virginia, the case that invalidated the prohibition of interracial marriages; one question comes to mind when I read about this. Should this case have ever even been a thing? Should the issue of race have ever been used to validate anything? This is the question Brent Staples explores in his editorial.
Brent claims that if race was declared a false Idea, perhaps it would have altered the national discourse on race decades ago.The logic behind Brent’s reasoning is that race should have solely been validated as a biological category and that the freedom to choose a partner should have been self evident. I believe that a court ruling was unnecessary to affirm the right to marriage. People should be allowed to choose their own marriage partners and the issue of marriage should never have been decided by the state or federal government. Brent evidently proves his point by referencing how this may have laid the foundation for marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples. In Brent’s editorial, he validates his argument by highlighting the notion of one of the lawyers who explained how the definition of blackness had shifted throughout the years and this showed the irrationalism behind making race a determining factor for issues as it clearly is a social construct with evidence of it being defined by people and the changes in its meaning throughout the years.
I agree with Brent perhaps this must have laid a foundation for marriage equality as we see it today but one must not ignore the fact that even in the present times, we have still tried to interfere in the issues of marriage regardless of whether or not it is racially based, we have almost failed to realize that marriage is a personal decision and should not require a court ruling for validation. This editorial speaks to the entire society, I believe that people from different walks of life should be able to find this relatable as it addresses two important things which are racism and discrimination which is still evident in the America we live in today.
