Interracialism : Black-White Intermarriage in American History, Literature, and Law

Interracialism, or marriage between members of different races, has formed, torn apart, defined and divided our nation since its earliest history. This collection explores the primary texts of interracialism as a means of addressing core issues in our racial identity. Ranging from Hannah Arendt to George Schuyler and from Pace v. Alabama to Loving v. Virginia , it provides extraordinary resources for faculty and students in English, American and Ethnic Studies as well as for general readers interested in race relations. By bringing together a selection of historically significant documents and of the best essays and scholarship on the subject of ''miscegenation,'' Interracialism demonstrates that notions of race can be fruitfully approached from the vantage point of the denial of interracialism that typically informs racial ideologies. Title Page 2 Acknowledgments 2 Contents 2 Introduction 2 PART I: The History of Miscegenation and the Legal Construction of Race 2 LAWS AND DECISIONS 2 The Virginia "Act to Preserve Racial Integrity" of 1924 2 "Marriage and Divorce" in 1913 Arizona 2 ESSAYS 2 What Is a White Man? 2 The Beginnings of Miscegenation of the Whites and Blacks 2 Interracial Marriage and the Law 2 Representing Miscegenation Law 2 Racial Purity and Interracial Sex in the Law of Colonial and Antebellum Virginia 2 The Enforcement of Anti- Miscegenation Laws 2 Reading Race, Rhetoric, and the Female Body in the Rhinelander Case 2 Miscegenation Law, Court Cases, and Ideologies of "Race" in Twentieth-Century America 2 PART II Literature 2 A MISCEGENATION VOCABULARY AND THE COINING OF AN AMERICANISM 2 Terms from the Oxford English Dictionary 2 The Miscegenation Issue in the Election of 1864 2 THE TRAGIC MULATTO AND OTHER THEMES OF INTERRACIAL LITERATURE 2 American Literary Tradition and the Negro* 2 From "Negro Character as Seen by White Authors" 2 The Mulatto in American Fiction 2 The "Tragic Octoroon" in Pre Civil War Fiction 2 The Serpent of Lust in the Southern Garden 2 Miscegenation in the Late Nineteenth- Century American Novel 2 CASE STUDIES AND CLOSE READINGS 2 The Tragic Mulatto Theme in Six Works of Langston Hughes 2 Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson 2 Of African Queens and Afro-American Princes and Princesses: Miscegenation in Old Hepsy 2 Othello in America: The Drama of Racial Intermarriage 2 Jean Toomer and American Racial Discourse 2 LITERATURE IN CONTEXTS 2 Victims of Likeness: Quadroons and Octoroons in Southern Fiction 2 Bodily Bonds: The Intersecting Rhetorics of Feminism and Abolition 2 American Theriomorphia: The Presence of Mulatez in Cirilo Villaverde and Beyond 2 PART III Social Theory and Analysis 2 Statistics of Black-White Intermarriage Rates in the United States 2 Miscegenation 2 Intermarriage and the Social Structure: Fact and Theory 2 Reflections on Little Rock 2 Black Men White Women: A Philosophical View 2 Reflecting the Changing Face of America: Multiracials, Racial Classification, and American Intermarriage 2 For Further Reading 2 Index 2 Introduction -- The Virginia Act To Preserve Racial Integrity Of 1924 -- Marriage And Divorce In 1913 Arizona -- Pace V. State Of Alabama, 1883 -- Loving V. Commonwealth Of Virginia, 1967 -- What Is A White Man? / Charles W. Chesnutt -- The Beginnings Of Miscegenation Of The Whites And Blacks / Carter G. Woodson -- Interracial Marriage And The Law / William D. Zabel -- Representing Miscegenation Law / Eva Saks -- Racial Purity And Interracial Sex In The Law Of Colonial And Antebellum Virginia / A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., & Barbara K. Kopytoff -- The Enforcement Of Anti-miscegenation Laws / Randall Kennedy -- Reading Race, Rhetoric, And The Female Body In The Rhinelander Case / Jamie L. Wacks -- Miscegenation Law, Court Cases, And Ideologies Of Race In Twentieth-century America / Peggy Pascoe -- Terms From The Oxford English Dictionary -- The Miscegenation Issue In The Election Of 1864 / Sidney Kaplan -- American Literary Tradition And The Negro / Alain Locke -- From Negro Character As Seen By White Authors / Sterling A. Brown -- The Mulatto In American Fiction / Penelope Bullock -- The Tragic Octoroon In Pre-civil War Fiction / Jules Zanger -- The Serpent Of Lust In The Southern Garden / William Bedford Clark -- Miscegenation In The Late Nineteenth-century American Novel / William L. Andrews -- The Tragic Mulatto Theme In Six Works Of Langston Hughes / Arthur P. Davis -- Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson / Langston Hughes -- Of African Queens And Afro-american Princes And Princesses: Miscegenation In Old Hepsy / Simone Vauthier -- Othello In America: The Drama O Edited By Werner Sollors. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This collection begins with the texts of selected laws (Arizona and Virginia) and the momentous Supreme Court decisions of Pace v. State of Alabama (1883) and Loving v. Commonwealth of Virginia (1967) that mark the modern trajectory of legal thinking about black-white interracialism. Interracialism has formed, torn apart, defined and divided the American nation since its earliest history. This volume explores the primary texts of interracialism as a means of addressing core issues in American racial identity