Interracial Parents & Couples Discuss Their Lives 50 Years After Loving V. Virginia

There’s a lot of reasons to celebrate in June. Not only is it Pride Month and the anniversary of Obergefell v. Hodges, but it’s also the anniversary month of Loving v. Virginia. Interracial marriage was legalized in the United States thanks to Loving v. Virginia, and it was one of the many precedents in the Obergefell v. Hodges case which legalized same-sex marriage.

It has been 50 years this June since interracial marriage has been legalized and though the numbers of interracial couples and families are growing each year, many interracial families still face struggles. Vice News interviewed a range of interracial couples and families who share their experiences in mixed race relationships.

One couple, the Buffalo’s, share how Gail Buffalo’s family does not welcome her African American husband, Vaughn, and many in her family actually pray that they don’t get pregnant.

Former Secretary of Defense William Cohen and his wife Janet Langhart Cohen share how Janet refused William’s marriage proposals several times, in fear that it would affect her husband’s reelection if the people in his district were racist and did not approve of their interracial marriage.

“It’s not that I’m color blind. It’s not that white folks aren’t white folks and black folks aren’t black folks. But this particular white folk is my soulmate and best friend,” Reverend Jacqui Lewis says of her husband of 12 years.

Some of the interviewees also shared their experiences as interracial families.

“I think any preconception that interracial marriage for some eugenic reason isn’t going to work is shattered as soon as you see a healthy child,” says Chris Connolly, adding, “They’re perfect,” as he looks at his sons.

Speaking of his kids, Errol McDonald said, “For me my concern was that they would be prey to certain social definitions of who they’re supposed to be. I wanted their cultural horizons and their formation of their own identities to be as open as possible.”

See the full video below: