By Marlena Coelho-Sousae
For the Daily Titan

Leon and Rosina Watson were married in 1950, just after the California Supreme Court became the first in the nation to strike down interracial marriage bans. The Oakland couple raised three children and remain living in their same home for the past 59 years. Photo courtesy MCT.

According to the state of Virginia, which at the time prohibited interracial marriage, they were criminals – guilty of marrying the “wrong” kind of person – and were given a choice to serve one year in prison or 25 years in exile from their home state.

The Lovings saw they had only one choice: to fight for the right to love and be with each other, regardless of race, color or creed.

After much trial, tribulation and perseverance, the U.S Supreme Court in the case of Loving v. Virginia declared, “The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men.”

The case of Loving v. Virginia provided light at the end of a dimly-lit tunnel and paved the way for many interracial couples to live free from persecution.

Many argue that this generation of American youths are creating a bold new frontier for America, one where individuals of all cultures are mixing and integrating to form a brilliant kaleidoscope of ethnicities. However, with change often comes resistance and hostility toward accepting a new America.

Thomas Grisby, a 27-year-old ITT Tech graduate, experienced the extent of society’s acceptance and tolerance firsthand.

“Overall, I think society has made a 180,” Grisby, who is black and previously dated a Caucasian woman, said. “America has evolved so much, and not everyone is the same race. We’re so mixed. It’s inevitable that everyone will soon blend.”

Despite society’s greater acceptance toward interracial couples, Grisby said that certain menacing looks from a handful of people are ever-present and hard to ignore.

“I was always on alert, everywhere I went, because I knew that we might cause problems,” Grisby said. “Most of the people staring would focus attention on my girlfriend, trying to tell her with their eyes that she was doing something wrong and should be ashamed.”

Ricky Young, a 22-year-old from Mississippi, is a kinesiology major visiting Cal State Fullerton. Young, who is black, shares Grisby’s thoughts and attitudes regarding society’s increase in accepting interracial relationships; however, particular instances of discrimination have been unforgettable.

“For the most part, my girlfriend and I only get slight glances and looks, mostly from older people,” Young said.

Young described an instance in which a Caucasian man tried to initiate a fight with him after giving Young and his girlfriend a disgusted look.

“Once he knew I could hold my own, he walked away,” Young said. “My girlfriend and I were both shaken up, and we knew that it was just a product of ignorance.”

Lezlee Hinesmon-Matthews, assistant professor of Afro-ethnic studies at CSUF, teaches many courses on the history of racism and the black family. After years of teaching a variety of students, she feels that many of them underestimate the reality of discrimination and prejudice occurring in today’s society.

“(Southern California) natives are used to multiculture, and are comfortable with it because they have grown up around it,” Matthews said. “Some of my students who have traveled the states and abroad have other stories to tell and are often surprised to realize that others do not share their same ideals.”

The scale and presence of racism seems to significantly vary regionally.

Many of her students who attempt to date interracially begin to realize that bigotry still exists, not only outside sources but from family as well, Matthews said. Many of those who embark on an interracial relationship feel that it is not worth the strife or complication, especially at the risk of being ostracized by certain family members.

The repercussions of interracial relationships are becoming apparent, and in many instances individuals can feel neglected or angry when someone from within their race chooses to date outside the racial spectrum. Matthews notes that these pent up feelings of hurt and animosity can often be aimed toward interracial couples and prove to perpetuate prejudice.

Another crucial problem in society that serves to impede the process of progression and acceptance in America are individuals belonging to an older generation. In society today, while the merging of races has become more widely practiced and accepted by the younger generation, older generations are usually less tolerant and often stigmatize youths for their seemingly “taboo” choices. Tension between the generations arise, creating an ever-present tug-of-war of conflicting ideas and perceptions.

An example of this would be the much-publicized case in which Louisiana Justice of the Peace Keith Bardwell, a Caucasian male in his 70s, refused to give a marriage license to an interracial New Orleans couple on the basis that he disapproved of their races mixing with one another, saying he was concerned for the children they would have together. Many older individuals such as Bardwell are reluctant to abandon their deeply rooted discriminative views, and this becomes a reflection of how far America has come, and how far it needs to go.

Despite the dismaying reality that prejudice still exists, barriers are slowly but surely being broken. As older generations and their prejudices die off, it is up to America’s youth to stamp out the legacy of racism by passing on messages of cultural diversity and acceptance to future generations. President Obama, a product of an interracial marriage, serves as a testament to society moving in the right direction.

Young personally hasn’t noticed any change so far, suggesting that it’s too soon to tell whether or not Obama has caused America to be more understanding toward interracial couples. But in his eyes, the fact that Obama was elected and is the product of an interracial marriage is evidence that many people don’t have an issue with it.

Matthews feels that her students are very optimistic Obama will help to eliminate society’s racism and discrimination. America’s past has been marred by years of slavery and oppression.