Controversy Behind Interracial Couples

Controversy behind Interracial Couples Name Institutional Affiliation Controversy behind Interracial Couples Introduction For a very long time in the past, racism had been a norm in the US and other parts of the world. Racism can be defined as the discrimination directed toward someone of a different race that is based on the assumption that one’s race is superior to the other race. This went on for a long while until people of different races began to accept each other. As a result of racism, there was a lot of prejudice against interracial couples. Most people did not believe that people of different races should be together, let alone get married. Background Information Before 1967, interracial marriages were illegal in the US. People of different races were not allowed to marry. There were strict laws that prohibited interracial marriages. These laws are also known as anti-miscegenation laws and they controlled how marriage worked in all states of the US. Pastors and judges were given strict instructions not to officiate marriages between people of different races (Aldridge, 1978). People of different races, even if not married, were often imprisoned as interracial sex was also considered a felony. Although interracial marriages were legalized in 1967, many still have concerns about it. Views Regarding the Issue While very few still hold on to the belief that people of different races should not get married, a majority of the US citizens are coming around to the fact that it is not a bad thing after all. In fact, the percentage of interracial newly wedded couples has increased over the past fifty years (Lewandowski & Jackson, 2001). Out of preference, some people prefer to marry people within their own race. Although they might not have anything against the other races, they just prefer marrying within their race. Some people, however, still view interracial marriages as if it was a really bad thing. They have the view that it would lead to violence, just like it happened during the colonial days. On the other hand, some people are of the view that as long as two people love each other, and they have an understanding, their different races should not be a hindrance to their relationship or marriage (Törngren, 2016). In fact, some people are encouraging interracial marriages with the argument that if there were many such marriages, there would be no reason for people to hate each other as they all would be of different races. Relationship of this to Human Services Counselor As a Huma...