The discussion continues in the post, The View from One Interracial Marriage. Laura H., a mother of eight children and a white woman married to a black man stationed in the military in Germany, has been accused of not understanding the innate need for cultural and racial connection. She continues to resolutely defend herself, maintaining that her children will not be culturally adrift and are not headed for a racial identity crisis. They have a strong sense of being American, she says, and that provides them with the larger group connection they need. In addition, they have something many people lack: a large, stable family and a Christian foundation.

I want to sincerely thank Laura H. and all who have participated in this conversation for their civility. I appreciate it.

Some may ask: Why are you even discussing this? Intermarriage is no longer a controversial issue. It is not illegal and few people openly condemn it anymore. Here is my answer. It is important to discuss interracial marriage because race is a real facet of existence, a biological and cultural reality. Though intermarriage is not openly controversial, I believe many people harbor private thoughts – both pro and con – on the subject.

Ben writes:

I read your most recent post: “Race and Culture vs. Family” and wanted a better definition of what you considered an interracial marriage.  You have mostly talked about whites marrying people of other skin color.   Do you think an American-English wedding to be interracial/undesirable if both were either black or white?  If this
is all right what about American-French or American-Russian match? Also, what about a white American from New York marrying a white American from Wyoming where the lifestyle and culture are probably different?  I am interested in getting a better understanding of what types of marriages you are against.

Laura writes:

You are assuming I am categorically against interracial marriage. I have said from the beginning I do not think it is morally wrong. It poses complications for psychological development in offspring and for the preservation of culture. I have also said there are groups who are strongly against it. Black women are particularly hostile to the idea of black men marrying white women and white men are often instinctively against these same marriages.

When I speak of races, I am broadly referring to biological categories that contain many finer distinctions. The Swedish naturalist Carolus Linnaeus came up with a classification system with the four human subdivisions being Asian, American Indian, Europeans, and Africans. Other biologists have spoken of three main groups: negroid, mongoloid and caucasoid, what we refer to as black, Asian and white.  There are mixtures and various subsets within these. However, there must always be that strong physical component, with pronounced genetic differences and distinct anthropological origins that extend into the distant past to create what we common-sensically refer to as race. 

The term “whites,” as I use it, refers to the descendents of the Indo-Europeans who originated in the steppes of Russia and who today are the Caucasian inhabitants of Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. Hispanics tend to think of themselves as a distinct race, although there are many variations, with populations of South American countries representing white Europeans, Indians, and blacks, and various mixtures of these.

No, an American/English wedding is not interracial. There is a common racial and cultural heritage among all descendents of indigenous Europeans. Obviously, ethnic differences can make a difference in marriage too, but the biological component is not the same.

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