美国国家公共电台 NPR Interracial Marriages Face Pushback 50 Years After Loving

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Fifty years ago today, Richard and Mildred Loving won the right to live as husband and wife in Virginia in a landmark¹ Supreme² Court case. Richard was white. Mildred described herself as, quote, "part negro and part Indian". At the time, 16 states banned mixed-race marriages. NPR's Hansi Lo Wang recently met with an interracial couple in Virginia who say that story resonates with them today.

HANSI LO WANG, BYLINE³: Like many couples, D.J. and Angela Ross fell in love on the dance floor.

ANGELA ROSS: So we were dancing to...

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I'VE HAD THE TIME OF MY LIFE")

BILL MEDLEY⁴: (Singing) Now, I've...

A. ROSS: What is it? "The Time Of My Life."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "(I'VE HAD) THE TIME OF MY LIFE")

MEDLEY: (Singing) ...Had the time of my life.

A. ROSS: I swear to you, it was as if there was no one in the room.

D.J. ROSS: I don't remember anything else but just me and her. It's like everybody else just disappeared.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "(I'VE HAD) THE TIME OF MY LIFE")

JENNIFER WARNES: (Singing) I owe it all to you.

WANG: But the two were not supposed to end up together, according to their families. D.J. is black, and Angela is white.

D.J. ROSS: My grandma on both sides used to tell me on both sides used to tell me, boy, you better leave those white girls alone or else we're going to come find you hanging from a tree or - just different stuff like that.

A. ROSS: I mean, I grew up - you can have friends with black people, and that's fine. But don't ever marry a black man.

WANG: But on Valentine's Day 2008, Angela tied the knot with D.J. in Virginia. That would have been illegal more than 50 years ago, when state law designed to, quote, "preserve racial integrity" prevented a white person from marrying someone who was not white. Richard and Mildred Loving were thrown in jail and later banished⁵ from Virginia for breaking that law in 1958.

PHILIP HIRSCHSKOP: This period was a very dangerous period. You didn't want publicity⁶ for them still living in the South.

WANG: Philip Hirschskop was one of the lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union who argued the Lovings' case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

HIRSCHSKOP: President Kennedy was assassinated⁷. Medgar Evers was assassinated. The girls were killed at the church in Alabama. These were very tough, difficult times.

WANG: Still on June 12, 1967, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of the Lovings. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote in the opinion that, quote, "the freedom to marry or not marry a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed⁸ by the state."

A. ROSS: I can't even believe that was only a few years ago.

D.J. ROSS: I can't imagine just going through what they went through.

WANG: Marrying outside your race still comes with challenges for D.J. and Angela Ross.

D.J. ROSS: It's true that we can be together in the open. But with some things, I don't think we've made much progress. I mean, just - discrimination still happens.

A. ROSS: When we all have gone out as a family, the looks that we get - people shaking their head - number one, because we're a big family, but two, that we're married with five biracial children.

WANG: Angela says she's learned to have more self control over the years.

A. ROSS: Someone may look at me that disagrees with my choice in marrying my husband. I can't take that on. I can't take on their opinion of me because I know my value, and I know my self worth.

WANG: Opinions about interracial marriages have shifted dramatically over the past 50 years. With declining opposition⁹ to interracial marriages today, the share of newlyweds in interracial marriages has grown sharply, according to a recent Pew Research Center report. Now, 1 out of every 6 six newlyweds is married to someone of a different race.

Next year, Angela and D.J. Ross are set to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. They're focused on providing a safe home for their family among the rolling green hills outside of Roanoke, Va.

A. ROSS: And what's over here, Marianna? What's planted here?

MARIANNA: Broccoli¹⁰.

A. ROSS: More broccoli, cauliflower...

MARIANNA: I think this is jalapenos.

WANG: Angela homeschools their two youngest daughters, Marianna and Jordis, in their garden and living room. From there, you can see cows and horses grazing on farmland. D.J. says he's at peace out here with his family.

D.J. ROSS: As soon as I get here, it's like everything's just gone. You know, I don't have to worry about people looking at me differently because I'm home.

WANG: He adds, it's just us here.

Hansi Lo Wang, NPR News.

1 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

2 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 medley   

n.混合

参考例句：

• Today's sports meeting doesn't seem to include medley relay swimming.现在的运动会好象还没有混合接力泳这个比赛项目。
• China won the Men's 200 metres Individual Medley.中国赢得了男子200米个人混合泳比赛。

5 banished   

v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was banished to Australia, where he died five years later. 他被流放到澳大利亚，五年后在那里去世。
• He was banished to an uninhabited island for a year. 他被放逐到一个无人居住的荒岛一年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

7 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

8 infringed   

v.违反（规章等）( infringe的过去式和过去分词 )；侵犯（某人的权利）；侵害（某人的自由、权益等）

参考例句：

• Wherever the troops went, they never infringed on the people's interests. 大军过处，秋毫无犯。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He was arrested on a charge of having infringed the Election Law. 他因被指控触犯选举法而被拘捕。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

10 broccoli   

n.绿菜花，花椰菜

参考例句：

• She grew all the broccoli plants from seed.这些花椰菜都是她用种子培育出来的。
• They think broccoli is only green and cauliflower is only white.他们认为西兰花只有绿色的，而菜花都是白色的。