Interracial couples become more common, accepted

An interracial couple is not a rare sight these days, but Sacha' Washington and Michael Schmitt say they still turn heads.

Washington, a black pre-medical technician sophomore, and Schmitt, a white computer science freshman, say their relationship has a number of perks, but they are sometimes faced with disapproval.

"I get dirty looks everywhere we go," Schmitt said. "I don't get upset; I like that someone would care enough to notice."

But the couple is not alone, according to a recent study by Michael Rosenfeld, a Stanford University sociologist who specializes in ethnicity and family structure.

The study estimated that 2 percent of America's couples in 1970 were interracial, and now that number is at 7 percent, representing approximately 400,000 out of 59 million couples.

Forty years ago, interracial relationships were ostracized and even outlawed in some states. The 1967 Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia ruled whites could marry nonwhites, effectively expunging the biggest barrier to interracial marriage in the United States.

As a result, the number of interracial relationships grew, and the generation of mixed children from the '70s is now helping to erase the stigma, according to Laurie Chancey, sociology graduate student and marriage and family class instructor.

"In the '70s there was a shift from public opinion to individualism," Chancey said. "Racial tolerance has come along with that. Multiple generations of mixed-race families are going on, and people from even as far back as the '30s and '40s are removing the stigma and setting the tone."

Patrick King II, geography junior, said his parents are among those who have defied the social barriers. Each of his parents is mixed with black and white, and he said he appreciates the blend of color he grew up with.

"I'm down for it," King said. "I love being interracial, but I never really noticed. There was no culture clash or anything in our home."

A recent Pew study on interracial relationships found that nearly 15 percent of all new marriages in the United States in 2008 were between two people of different races. This is approximately six times the rate of interracial marriages in 1960 and double the rate from the '80s.

These statistics ultimately mirror the fact that more couples from different races are hooking up, Chaney said.

"Hooking up is becoming a more common, permanent way of life," she said. "Looking at marriage is a good way to gauge statistics."

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Contact Trey Nwankwo at tnwankwo@lsureveille.com