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Loving: Interracial Intimacy in America and the Threat to White Supremacy
How interracial love and marriage changed history, and may soon alter the landscape of American politics.
Loving beyond boundaries is a radical act that is changing America. When Mildred and Richard Loving wed in 1958, they were ripped from their shared bed and taken to court. Their crime: miscegenation, punished by exile from their home state of Virginia. The resulting landmark decision of Loving v. Virginia ended bans on interracial marriage and remains a signature case--the first to use the words "white supremacy" to describe such racism.
Drawing from the earliest chapters in US history, legal scholar Sheryll Cashin reveals the enduring legacy of America's original sin, tracing how we transformed from a country without an entrenched construction of race to a nation where one drop of nonwhite blood merited exclusion from full citizenship. In vivid detail, she illustrates how the idea of whiteness was created by the planter class of yesterday and is reinforced by today's power-hungry dog-whistlers to divide struggling whites and people of color, ensuring plutocracy and undermining the common good.
Cashin argues that over the course of the last four centuries there have been "ardent integrators" and that those people are today contributing to the emergence of a class of "culturally dexterous" Americans. In the fifty years since the Lovings won their case, approval for interracial marriage rose from 4 percent to 87 percent. Cashin speculates that rising rates of interracial intimacy--including cross-racial adoption, romance, and friendship--combined with immigration, demographic, and generational change, will create an ascendant coalition of culturally dexterous whites and people of color.
Loving is both a history of white supremacy and a hopeful treatise on the future of race relations in America, challenging the notion that trickle-down progressive politics is our only hope for a more inclusive society. Accessible and sharp, Cashin reanimates the possibility of a future where interracial understanding serves as a catalyst of a social revolution ending not in artificial color blindness but in a culture where acceptance and difference are celebrated.
Loving beyond boundaries is a radical act that is changing America. When Mildred and Richard Loving wed in 1958, they were ripped from their shared bed and taken to court. Their crime: miscegenation, punished by exile from their home state of Virginia. The resulting landmark decision of Loving v. Virginia ended bans on interracial marriage and remains a signature case--the first to use the words "white supremacy" to describe such racism.
Drawing from the earliest chapters in US history, legal scholar Sheryll Cashin reveals the enduring legacy of America's original sin, tracing how we transformed from a country without an entrenched construction of race to a nation where one drop of nonwhite blood merited exclusion from full citizenship. In vivid detail, she illustrates how the idea of whiteness was created by the planter class of yesterday and is reinforced by today's power-hungry dog-whistlers to divide struggling whites and people of color, ensuring plutocracy and undermining the common good.
Cashin argues that over the course of the last four centuries there have been "ardent integrators" and that those people are today contributing to the emergence of a class of "culturally dexterous" Americans. In the fifty years since the Lovings won their case, approval for interracial marriage rose from 4 percent to 87 percent. Cashin speculates that rising rates of interracial intimacy--including cross-racial adoption, romance, and friendship--combined with immigration, demographic, and generational change, will create an ascendant coalition of culturally dexterous whites and people of color.
Loving is both a history of white supremacy and a hopeful treatise on the future of race relations in America, challenging the notion that trickle-down progressive politics is our only hope for a more inclusive society. Accessible and sharp, Cashin reanimates the possibility of a future where interracial understanding serves as a catalyst of a social revolution ending not in artificial color blindness but in a culture where acceptance and difference are celebrated.
232 pages, Hardcover
First published June 6, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
May 6, 2018
This book celebrates the good that can come from interracial relationships. This book delves into the history of interracial relationships in the United States, going all the way back to colonial days. Surprisingly, at the beginning of American history interracial relationships were not as stigmatized as they were after the development of slavery as a part of the American economy. After the section on history, the author goes into the state of interracial relationships today, and the promise that they hold for the future. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book.
One point to clarify--this book doesn't really explore the Loving v. Virginia case very much. It covers it briefly as a framing devise for talking about the issue of interracial relationships. If you're looking for a book on the Lovings specifically, this probably isn't the book you are looking for.
One point to clarify--this book doesn't really explore the Loving v. Virginia case very much. It covers it briefly as a framing devise for talking about the issue of interracial relationships. If you're looking for a book on the Lovings specifically, this probably isn't the book you are looking for.
October 28, 2017
This is truly a book which every American must read. Virginia has been in the media spotlight this year because of 2 things: 1. The tragedy in Charlottesville, Virginia that resulted in the death of anti-racist protester Heather Heyer that has caught both national and international attention. 2. The 50th anniversary of The late Richard and Mildred Loving's lawsuit in their home state that outlawed Interracial Marriage which the Supreme Court had ruled unconstitutional.
Mrs. Cashin has done an excellent job detailing the historic patterns which Virginia has created due to the racism of that era that was made into law that has affected America in the past and repercussions affecting our present. I will not go into detail because I am challenging everyone even those who aren't political to read this book for yourself with an open mind and without bias.
For those interested and are in Interracial Relationships, I strongly suggest you especially read this book. Just because the racial attitudes of the 50's and 60's no longer exist, they are still a problem in our nation and its suggested to have knowledge so that your relationship can remain strong despite the racism which you face in your personal life whether socially and at work.
This book does offer hope from the author who is realistic that Racism is still relevant in our nation today in the age of Trump. I have nothing more to say is that to honor The Lovings, read this book for them and yourself.
Mrs. Cashin has done an excellent job detailing the historic patterns which Virginia has created due to the racism of that era that was made into law that has affected America in the past and repercussions affecting our present. I will not go into detail because I am challenging everyone even those who aren't political to read this book for yourself with an open mind and without bias.
For those interested and are in Interracial Relationships, I strongly suggest you especially read this book. Just because the racial attitudes of the 50's and 60's no longer exist, they are still a problem in our nation and its suggested to have knowledge so that your relationship can remain strong despite the racism which you face in your personal life whether socially and at work.
This book does offer hope from the author who is realistic that Racism is still relevant in our nation today in the age of Trump. I have nothing more to say is that to honor The Lovings, read this book for them and yourself.
March 27, 2018
RATING: 4 STARS
(Review Not on Blog)
Since I first heard about the Loving case, when I watched a movie from the 90s, I have been interested in learning more about it. It always blew my mind that as recent as the late 60s people were not allowed to marry anyone of a different race. When I saw this book at the library I was excited that not only did this book discuss the Loving case but looked at the history of interracial marriages/relationships in America and the laws and social norms around them. I liked the point that Cashin makes that "slave and slave holder 'relationship'" was not the same thing as interracial relationships. One was based on power dynamics while the other was on choice and love - to paraphrase in my own way. I thought this would be a book that I would read in chunks over time, but I finished this within a day. It was so easy to read and get absorbed in the writing and subject matter. At times I wished it was longer, but the brief history is exactly what makes it a quicker read. After reading this book, I am looking forward to reading more of Cashin's books.
(Review Not on Blog)
Since I first heard about the Loving case, when I watched a movie from the 90s, I have been interested in learning more about it. It always blew my mind that as recent as the late 60s people were not allowed to marry anyone of a different race. When I saw this book at the library I was excited that not only did this book discuss the Loving case but looked at the history of interracial marriages/relationships in America and the laws and social norms around them. I liked the point that Cashin makes that "slave and slave holder 'relationship'" was not the same thing as interracial relationships. One was based on power dynamics while the other was on choice and love - to paraphrase in my own way. I thought this would be a book that I would read in chunks over time, but I finished this within a day. It was so easy to read and get absorbed in the writing and subject matter. At times I wished it was longer, but the brief history is exactly what makes it a quicker read. After reading this book, I am looking forward to reading more of Cashin's books.
January 20, 2018
This book was not actually about Loving v. Virginia -- it was a pseudo-sociological argument for the benefit of "cultural dexterity" where white people in close interracial relationships (can also be just close friendships or adoption) develop a deeper understanding of what it's like to be POC in America and that eventually there will be enough culturally dexterous white people to reach a tipping point in the battle against white supremacy. I liked the argument, but wasn't convinced by the bases for concluding as such. It's not a book of social science research and it doesn't actually cite any primary sources, instead it overviews a history of racial dynamics in the US through the prism of prohibitions on interracial intimacy. Overall interesting, but within a specific framework.
January 12, 2023
Though I had considered this book since the Black Lives Matter summer of 2020, it is my long-term interracial relationship that most closely inspired me to finally pick it up, and I enjoyed exploring the history and connecting to the greater cultural understanding of intimate connections to different people. Though its primary focus is on marriage, the author Sheryll Cashin tackles relationships of various kinds, and its focus near the end on raising mixed-race children is something I found very important to explore. Cashin, the daughter of civil rights activists, pulls the reader in for an exploration of our transition from the slavery-stained United States of the past to the highly diverse and integrating nation of today. To Cashin, the casual is often the most radical.
This book traces the history of American interracial relationships from the troubled history of slave-indentured-servant relationships and master-slave relationships to the present day, through the everyday and extreme violence of white supremacy to the grey areas that stay with us today. Data is used to back up claims of increasing interracial relationships and more liberal views, though I was often horrified by how far we still have to go. The book and its data also have less uplifting moments, reflecting higher rates of interracial divorce and the continuing preference across racial groups for people to date their own ethnic background.
Even though Cashin admits that most Americans do not choose to marry interracially, her key point is in the fact that the amount of these "culturally dextrous" people has increased a lot over time and notes its impacts on civil rights struggles like same-sex marriage. Parents and grandparents may have more regressive or conservative views, but younger Americans are becoming visibly more liberal on the issue. This book, which is an easy dive into hundreds of years of history, reminds us of the importance of allies, new perspectives, and love in all of our struggles for equality and justice. Those in interracial relationships and marriages will have a particularly close connection to this work, but all scholars of history and race relations will likely find its detailed anecdotes and crucial legal cases compelling.
This book traces the history of American interracial relationships from the troubled history of slave-indentured-servant relationships and master-slave relationships to the present day, through the everyday and extreme violence of white supremacy to the grey areas that stay with us today. Data is used to back up claims of increasing interracial relationships and more liberal views, though I was often horrified by how far we still have to go. The book and its data also have less uplifting moments, reflecting higher rates of interracial divorce and the continuing preference across racial groups for people to date their own ethnic background.
Even though Cashin admits that most Americans do not choose to marry interracially, her key point is in the fact that the amount of these "culturally dextrous" people has increased a lot over time and notes its impacts on civil rights struggles like same-sex marriage. Parents and grandparents may have more regressive or conservative views, but younger Americans are becoming visibly more liberal on the issue. This book, which is an easy dive into hundreds of years of history, reminds us of the importance of allies, new perspectives, and love in all of our struggles for equality and justice. Those in interracial relationships and marriages will have a particularly close connection to this work, but all scholars of history and race relations will likely find its detailed anecdotes and crucial legal cases compelling.
April 13, 2020
I picked up this book on whim based solely on the thinking it would be about the Loving Supreme Court case.
The book was about Loving, but not what I was expecting.
Loving was the 1967 Supreme Court case that declared that laws banning interracial marriages were unconstitutional. Prior to that, states could (and did) make inter racial relationships illegal.
While this book was about Loving v Virginia, it was more about the social implications and history of interracial relationships in the Americas. While the book was not about what I thought it was about, it was still a very good (and short) book on the subject.
It is hard to believe that just 53 years ago, a couple could be arrested and charged because they fell in love with somebody with a different skin color!
The book was about Loving, but not what I was expecting.
Loving was the 1967 Supreme Court case that declared that laws banning interracial marriages were unconstitutional. Prior to that, states could (and did) make inter racial relationships illegal.
While this book was about Loving v Virginia, it was more about the social implications and history of interracial relationships in the Americas. While the book was not about what I thought it was about, it was still a very good (and short) book on the subject.
It is hard to believe that just 53 years ago, a couple could be arrested and charged because they fell in love with somebody with a different skin color!
June 14, 2017
I heard about this book during a Fresh Air podcast and I instantly had to get my hands on it. This is a topic that I'm passionate about and I actually teach the Loving vs Virginia trial details in my civil rights unit at school (and I just bought the new YA verse novel about the case).
This was such an interesting outlook on how we have progressed with our outlook of race, how the concept of race was created over time, and how our progress of enlightenment is impacting how race still exists in American culture today.
A must-read for history and sociology geeks!
This was such an interesting outlook on how we have progressed with our outlook of race, how the concept of race was created over time, and how our progress of enlightenment is impacting how race still exists in American culture today.
A must-read for history and sociology geeks!
May 10, 2018
Interesting topic but poorly written and boring book. Basically this is the summary: we're racist because we don't know people of other races. If we know people of other races we'll stop being racist and as the world becomes more diverse we become less racist. Also as the old racist people die we become less racist.
September 12, 2017
Excellent overview of the history of interracial relationships in America and how definitions and laws changed over time to reinforce notions of white supremacy. It was very compelling, I couldn't put it down, which rarely happens with non-fiction books for me. She ended on a hopeful note, even in the Trump era, that personal, intimate interracial friendships and relationships are the main way we can overcome white supremacy and racism in our society.
August 1, 2020
An evaluation of the centuries long complexity of interracial intimacy.
March 30, 2023
This book was interesting and informative. I learned more from this book than most books I've read for school. It is completely relevant and important, especially now.
April 15, 2022
The first three-fourths of Loving was five star excellence. The history of racism in Virginia, as well as the 1967 Supreme Court case, Loving v. Virginia, which legalized interracial marriage in the US, was well researched and wonderfully written. As a current resident of Virginia, it is important to me to learn more about the state's history, especially considering it was part of the former Confederacy. After learning more about Virginia's complex and deeply rooted history of racism, the fact that state Republicans want to ban the teaching of critical race theory in schools has become even more alarming to me. Hello, Virginia, your historic relationship with racism and racial othering is QUITE TROUBLING and we need to be teaching and learning about it!
All that said, the last couple chapters of Loving kept me from giving the book as a whole five stars. I felt Cashin belabored her points about white supremacy in the present day, as well as her push for more inclusive, pluralistic communities moving forward. Understanding this was published in 2017 shortly after Trump took office, it makes sense that she felt called to devote numerous pages to these topics. However, in 2022, taking into account a global pandemic that has upended all of our lives, as well as all the racial reckoning many in the US have been engaging in in the past few years, particularly in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder, these pages felt like old news to me. Not to say that Cashin's points aren't still important or valid-we certainly still have A LOT of work to do in this country regarding the dismantling of systemic racism for sure. That said, the people who are going to pick up Loving are likely those people who are already interested in anti racist work. And, in 2022, it felt like Cashin was preaching to the choir in the last chapters regarding her points about the need for inclusion and pluralistic living. This is a book that was written at a specific time and place in US history and, even 5 years out from its publication, the points in the last couple chapters seemed a little outdated/overdone to me as a reader.
All that said, the last couple chapters of Loving kept me from giving the book as a whole five stars. I felt Cashin belabored her points about white supremacy in the present day, as well as her push for more inclusive, pluralistic communities moving forward. Understanding this was published in 2017 shortly after Trump took office, it makes sense that she felt called to devote numerous pages to these topics. However, in 2022, taking into account a global pandemic that has upended all of our lives, as well as all the racial reckoning many in the US have been engaging in in the past few years, particularly in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder, these pages felt like old news to me. Not to say that Cashin's points aren't still important or valid-we certainly still have A LOT of work to do in this country regarding the dismantling of systemic racism for sure. That said, the people who are going to pick up Loving are likely those people who are already interested in anti racist work. And, in 2022, it felt like Cashin was preaching to the choir in the last chapters regarding her points about the need for inclusion and pluralistic living. This is a book that was written at a specific time and place in US history and, even 5 years out from its publication, the points in the last couple chapters seemed a little outdated/overdone to me as a reader.
July 4, 2017
For those who missed the recent articles, this is the 50th anniversary of 'Loving v Virginia,' one of our landmark legal cases. In it, a bi-racial couple took on the ruling by the Commonwealth of Virginia that their marriage in Washington, DC meant nothing in Virginia. They were exiled---EXILED!---from their home for 25 years.
After repeated arrests for being caught visiting family in their hometown, they finally brought suit, winding up victorious before the Supreme Court. They opened the way for 'mixed marriages,' including not only white/black, but liaisons with Orientals, Amerindians, et al.
Professor Cashin begins by examining the legal/social picture before 'Loving'. In Part II she delves into the people and issues involved in the lawsuit and finishes with a section titled "After 'Loving'" which is loaded with comparisons and numbers and study results which she blends and forms into a hopeful picture of the future. It seems that in spite of the present ascendancy of white supremacists and general haters that the demographics work in favor of freedom and justice. For one thing, the bulk of the backward belong to my generation and we are dying off. Those coming after us have less stock in white privilege and less interest in racial hatred. Not that haters and venial graspers will not be with us in 2040, but rather the mass of people will tip toward cooperators and acceptors. Hers is a strong argument; we can hope the unforeseen and the fascist do not unseat her arguments.
Highly Recommended.
After repeated arrests for being caught visiting family in their hometown, they finally brought suit, winding up victorious before the Supreme Court. They opened the way for 'mixed marriages,' including not only white/black, but liaisons with Orientals, Amerindians, et al.
Professor Cashin begins by examining the legal/social picture before 'Loving'. In Part II she delves into the people and issues involved in the lawsuit and finishes with a section titled "After 'Loving'" which is loaded with comparisons and numbers and study results which she blends and forms into a hopeful picture of the future. It seems that in spite of the present ascendancy of white supremacists and general haters that the demographics work in favor of freedom and justice. For one thing, the bulk of the backward belong to my generation and we are dying off. Those coming after us have less stock in white privilege and less interest in racial hatred. Not that haters and venial graspers will not be with us in 2040, but rather the mass of people will tip toward cooperators and acceptors. Hers is a strong argument; we can hope the unforeseen and the fascist do not unseat her arguments.
Highly Recommended.
June 30, 2020
pg 32-35. A discussion of sex or marriage between black and white people. Discovery through interracial children. In each case, the black men bought their freedom. Virginia. Issue: these former slaves were stolen from a Spanish galleon decades prior. Illiterate in Portuguese. First were cattle farmers in Angola. Were allowed to raise cows and crops; and used the proceeds to purchase their freedom. Evidence of status through marriage to white women. 1640-1658. Court records documented their case. At this time, blackness and slavery were not synonymous. Owned contracts for indentured servants; properties; etc. Footnote: the Birth of Black America (Tim Hashaw). Cashin is a law professor at Georgetown Law School.
July 11, 2017
The compelling voice of The Agitator’s Daughter is back full force in Loving. In her new book, Sheryll Cashin delves into the history of laws barring inter-racial marriage and intimacy in the colonies and the states, as well as the enforcement of these laws across state lines. She shares how these laws and practices were part and parcel of the White Supremacy regimes of Slavery, Jim Crow, and Caste Discrimination that divided America for so long and so deeply.
Ironically, as with the first written law of the Hammurabi Code, the laws barring certain behaviors – here inter-racial loving between partners of different color, as with similar laws and customs barring such intimate relations between partners of different national origins, religions, ethnicities and cultures and the same gender – have long been violated by many. Whether openly in marriage or covertly in intimacy, such loving over time has always defied caste, despite all the bans, prohibitions, penalties and myths that seek to maintain all such single-race, culture, nationality, religion and other Supremacy regimes. Indeed, my recently published historical novel The Belle of Two Arbors, 1913-1953, explores several such relationships: the title character’s love with an Ojibwe leader so intent on rebuilding his band he won’t marry an outsider, but together their families join to help build their separate businesses and to conserve the fresh waters, forests, and land of their peninsula jutting into the Great Lake; two gay men, one a poet colleague and the other a business partner, who find needed shelter, support and empathy from the title character; and her brother, who loves and marries a woman who passes for white and then support one another when she comes out to support Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP before the novel ends. See https://belleoftwoarbors.com/.
For Cashin, such human stories are among the hundreds she describes in her book that give texture to her analysis of all the laws, court cases, commentaries and policies. They also provide the prime examples of what she dubs “cultural dexterity,” as people who care deeply for one another learn to cross forbidden lines to work together and to love one another. For Cashin, this trait has continued to grow in succeeding generations over our long history.
Finally, in 1967 a unanimous Supreme Court joined Chief Justice Warren’s opinion overturning Virginia’s anti-miscegenation laws and penalties that restricted the freedom of Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter to marry and to live as man and wife: “Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State…There is patently no legitimate overriding purpose independent of invidious racial discrimination which justifies this classification. The fact that Virginia prohibits only interracial marriages involving white persons demonstrates that the racial classifications must stand on their own justification, as measures designed to maintain White Supremacy.”
Cashin’s thorough and varied analyses are bolstered by her wicked sense of irony and one-line zingers that bring the reader up short, whether with a knowing grin (“hmmm, how delicious a phrasing!”) or with a new sense of understanding (yes, an “Aha!” moment). Yet in Loving’s subtitle, Cashin offers a much more radical look into the future: Interracial Intimacy in America and the Threat to White Supremacy. For the Agitator’s Daughter isn’t done agitating: Cashin argues that that the disaffected angry whites and nativists who pushed Trump over the top in the 2016 Presidential Electoral College will in the next generation be over-taken by the growing tide of more culturally dexterous integrators and their acceptance by a growing majority.
Yet U. S. history never offers a straight line to progress, freedom or tolerance. The Agitator’s Daughter knows this better than anyone: her memoir of four generations covers not only the rise of Emancipation, the Civil War Amendments and Reconstruction following the Union’s victory in the Civil War but also their fall and the rise of Jim Crow and Segregation as the new means of caste discrimination thereafter, all the way through the end of World war II; the rise of the Second Reconstruction with Martin Luther King, passive resistance, the Warren Court, and the Civil Rights Acts of the 1960’s and their fall in the next generation to Nixon’s Southern Strategy and to the retrenchment of the Burger and Rehnquist Courts. Whatever one may make of Clinton’s New Economy, W’s Compassionate Conservatism, and Obama’s One America, Trump’s America First appears much more hostile to Cashin’s hope of more inter-racial intimacy and cultural dexterity expanding opportunity for all Americans.
For better or worse, if past history is prologue, the jury on racial, ethnic, religious, and cultural divides in the U.S. remains up for grabs. On the other hand, perhaps intimacy and cultural dexterity offer as much hope for a brighter future for healing these continuing divides as any public policy, political movement or partisan proposal. Don’t ever count the Agitator’s Daughter out.
Ironically, as with the first written law of the Hammurabi Code, the laws barring certain behaviors – here inter-racial loving between partners of different color, as with similar laws and customs barring such intimate relations between partners of different national origins, religions, ethnicities and cultures and the same gender – have long been violated by many. Whether openly in marriage or covertly in intimacy, such loving over time has always defied caste, despite all the bans, prohibitions, penalties and myths that seek to maintain all such single-race, culture, nationality, religion and other Supremacy regimes. Indeed, my recently published historical novel The Belle of Two Arbors, 1913-1953, explores several such relationships: the title character’s love with an Ojibwe leader so intent on rebuilding his band he won’t marry an outsider, but together their families join to help build their separate businesses and to conserve the fresh waters, forests, and land of their peninsula jutting into the Great Lake; two gay men, one a poet colleague and the other a business partner, who find needed shelter, support and empathy from the title character; and her brother, who loves and marries a woman who passes for white and then support one another when she comes out to support Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP before the novel ends. See https://belleoftwoarbors.com/.
For Cashin, such human stories are among the hundreds she describes in her book that give texture to her analysis of all the laws, court cases, commentaries and policies. They also provide the prime examples of what she dubs “cultural dexterity,” as people who care deeply for one another learn to cross forbidden lines to work together and to love one another. For Cashin, this trait has continued to grow in succeeding generations over our long history.
Finally, in 1967 a unanimous Supreme Court joined Chief Justice Warren’s opinion overturning Virginia’s anti-miscegenation laws and penalties that restricted the freedom of Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter to marry and to live as man and wife: “Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State…There is patently no legitimate overriding purpose independent of invidious racial discrimination which justifies this classification. The fact that Virginia prohibits only interracial marriages involving white persons demonstrates that the racial classifications must stand on their own justification, as measures designed to maintain White Supremacy.”
Cashin’s thorough and varied analyses are bolstered by her wicked sense of irony and one-line zingers that bring the reader up short, whether with a knowing grin (“hmmm, how delicious a phrasing!”) or with a new sense of understanding (yes, an “Aha!” moment). Yet in Loving’s subtitle, Cashin offers a much more radical look into the future: Interracial Intimacy in America and the Threat to White Supremacy. For the Agitator’s Daughter isn’t done agitating: Cashin argues that that the disaffected angry whites and nativists who pushed Trump over the top in the 2016 Presidential Electoral College will in the next generation be over-taken by the growing tide of more culturally dexterous integrators and their acceptance by a growing majority.
Yet U. S. history never offers a straight line to progress, freedom or tolerance. The Agitator’s Daughter knows this better than anyone: her memoir of four generations covers not only the rise of Emancipation, the Civil War Amendments and Reconstruction following the Union’s victory in the Civil War but also their fall and the rise of Jim Crow and Segregation as the new means of caste discrimination thereafter, all the way through the end of World war II; the rise of the Second Reconstruction with Martin Luther King, passive resistance, the Warren Court, and the Civil Rights Acts of the 1960’s and their fall in the next generation to Nixon’s Southern Strategy and to the retrenchment of the Burger and Rehnquist Courts. Whatever one may make of Clinton’s New Economy, W’s Compassionate Conservatism, and Obama’s One America, Trump’s America First appears much more hostile to Cashin’s hope of more inter-racial intimacy and cultural dexterity expanding opportunity for all Americans.
For better or worse, if past history is prologue, the jury on racial, ethnic, religious, and cultural divides in the U.S. remains up for grabs. On the other hand, perhaps intimacy and cultural dexterity offer as much hope for a brighter future for healing these continuing divides as any public policy, political movement or partisan proposal. Don’t ever count the Agitator’s Daughter out.
November 18, 2020
Rating of 4.85
August 19, 2017
This book should be read by everyone living in America. It will provoke internal reflection, self examination. It should be a required reading textbook for every high school student in America.
June 17, 2017
Good background and historical information. With the recent anniversary of Loving v. Virginia case I was excited to see this book become available at my library. I recently watched the 2016 film about the case and so thought this would be a good pickup.
This wasn't quite what I expected at first. Author Cashin takes the reader though the history of interracial relationships in US history, from the first settlers through the present. Sometimes when authors do this it can be a really dry and boring retelling but it was quite intriguing to see cases and stories of couples who were willing to defy convention, societal ridicule, violence/death, financial hardships, etc. to be together. That is not to say Cashin focuses solely on the happier and consensual relationships but it was nice to see examples that I had never heard of.
Unfortunately though, those were the exceptions. Cashin traces how these relationships were ignored, tolerated, etc. but eventually laws and slavery made these relationships illegal. Of course, that never stopped slave owners or even the Founding Fathers as Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings are discussed. Not being a Jefferson scholar by any means I was interested to know a bit more about Hemings and read a bit about her, her family and her descendants fared after Jefferson died.
Cashin also notes how even rumors of these relationships were used as dog whistles in political battles, how sons of slave owners took public office during and after Reconstruction, etc. It was quite interesting and it was not an angle I had thought of or knew much about.
The parts about the Lovings were admittedly a bit boring to me. I already knew some of this from the movie and research/reading I had done after (plus the various reviews and articles that reiterate the case's journey and the life stories of the Lovings). I also was not that interested in some of the post-Loving effects, although it reinforced the stereotypes of how people fear what they don't understand and what they are not exposed to. As an aside it reminded me of the need for greater diverse representation of all types in the media and of one recent story that told of a man who hated the idea of refugees moving into his town and apartment building. The man was afraid they were terrorists but when these people moved in he saw the changes in his neighbors go from drug addicts to being replaced with families who would bring food over or have children who'd knock on his door to ask him to fix their bikes. He admitted he no longer felt the same once he heard their stories and saw these refugees as actual people.
Overall I'm glad I read it. At times it does get a bit dry and academic but it was quite informative and I'd say it's a good compliment to the 2016 movie if you want more information. It's also not that thick but Cashin does an excellent job in packing in a ton of knowledge in the text. It was right for me to borrow from the library but I wouldn't be surprised if it shows up on a college syllabus either.
This wasn't quite what I expected at first. Author Cashin takes the reader though the history of interracial relationships in US history, from the first settlers through the present. Sometimes when authors do this it can be a really dry and boring retelling but it was quite intriguing to see cases and stories of couples who were willing to defy convention, societal ridicule, violence/death, financial hardships, etc. to be together. That is not to say Cashin focuses solely on the happier and consensual relationships but it was nice to see examples that I had never heard of.
Unfortunately though, those were the exceptions. Cashin traces how these relationships were ignored, tolerated, etc. but eventually laws and slavery made these relationships illegal. Of course, that never stopped slave owners or even the Founding Fathers as Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings are discussed. Not being a Jefferson scholar by any means I was interested to know a bit more about Hemings and read a bit about her, her family and her descendants fared after Jefferson died.
Cashin also notes how even rumors of these relationships were used as dog whistles in political battles, how sons of slave owners took public office during and after Reconstruction, etc. It was quite interesting and it was not an angle I had thought of or knew much about.
The parts about the Lovings were admittedly a bit boring to me. I already knew some of this from the movie and research/reading I had done after (plus the various reviews and articles that reiterate the case's journey and the life stories of the Lovings). I also was not that interested in some of the post-Loving effects, although it reinforced the stereotypes of how people fear what they don't understand and what they are not exposed to. As an aside it reminded me of the need for greater diverse representation of all types in the media and of one recent story that told of a man who hated the idea of refugees moving into his town and apartment building. The man was afraid they were terrorists but when these people moved in he saw the changes in his neighbors go from drug addicts to being replaced with families who would bring food over or have children who'd knock on his door to ask him to fix their bikes. He admitted he no longer felt the same once he heard their stories and saw these refugees as actual people.
Overall I'm glad I read it. At times it does get a bit dry and academic but it was quite informative and I'd say it's a good compliment to the 2016 movie if you want more information. It's also not that thick but Cashin does an excellent job in packing in a ton of knowledge in the text. It was right for me to borrow from the library but I wouldn't be surprised if it shows up on a college syllabus either.
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June 1, 2022Given that I am a white woman married to a man of Asian descent, I am one of the couples in the U.S. who owes a debt of gratitude to the Lovings, so I was interested in this book. Going in I thought it would center the Lovings and found that aside from introducing them in the introduction it instead focused on the history of race relations in the U.S. since the advent of European Colonialism with a single chapter in the middle devoted to the Lovings. The final few chapters were devoted to how things have changed since the Lovings and how multiculturalism is the solution to our nations ills.
I felt that this book started out very strong. The early history of race relations was not something I knew much about and it was fascinating, and the tragic development of chattel slavery was also important to know and reckon with. I also felt the author did a good job of putting this in the context of greed and people in power turning disadvantaged poorer people, white, Black, First American, against each other.
The chapter on the Lovings felt like a bit of a mess to me, and a few times the chronology of the events felt very confused. I've not read a lot about them and it felt as though she assumed that a lot of things about them were common knowledge. The final few chapters felt like anecdote after anecdote of how multiracial families can look through marriage, adoption, friendship groups, etc. The final chapter had some relevant solutions on how to end political stalemate and gerrymandering, though it was a small blip in utopian longings.
I do feel multiculturalism is very important. And I am fortunate that while I live in a conservative state that the local area I live in is diverse. I would read this book as I took my kids to my neighborhood community pool where they would play with kids who were all the of the possible colors that people can come in. One time when we went there every family at the pool was also mixed and this is something I love about my community.
At the same time, integration works both ways, something that I am perhaps more cognizant of because I live in a conservative area. While many people of color are more liberal and adopt anti-racist attitudes there are some who don't. Multiculturalism is not a guarantee of tolerance. I know some Hispanics and Asians who voted for trump (though not as many whites). While I do believe that exposure to people of different races and backgrounds is important to developing tolerance I also felt that the author greatly oversold it as a solution. In a few generations we may become so mixed that stoking the flames of racism would be like trying to stoke resentment between people of Italian and people of Irish descent today but that will likely take a few generations. And just because people are more mixed does not mean that they will agree with a progressive, anti-racist platform.
Still, I felt the information I got from the first part of the book was worth the time. If your interest is starting to flag through the middle though you're not missing much if you put it down.
I felt that this book started out very strong. The early history of race relations was not something I knew much about and it was fascinating, and the tragic development of chattel slavery was also important to know and reckon with. I also felt the author did a good job of putting this in the context of greed and people in power turning disadvantaged poorer people, white, Black, First American, against each other.
The chapter on the Lovings felt like a bit of a mess to me, and a few times the chronology of the events felt very confused. I've not read a lot about them and it felt as though she assumed that a lot of things about them were common knowledge. The final few chapters felt like anecdote after anecdote of how multiracial families can look through marriage, adoption, friendship groups, etc. The final chapter had some relevant solutions on how to end political stalemate and gerrymandering, though it was a small blip in utopian longings.
I do feel multiculturalism is very important. And I am fortunate that while I live in a conservative state that the local area I live in is diverse. I would read this book as I took my kids to my neighborhood community pool where they would play with kids who were all the of the possible colors that people can come in. One time when we went there every family at the pool was also mixed and this is something I love about my community.
At the same time, integration works both ways, something that I am perhaps more cognizant of because I live in a conservative area. While many people of color are more liberal and adopt anti-racist attitudes there are some who don't. Multiculturalism is not a guarantee of tolerance. I know some Hispanics and Asians who voted for trump (though not as many whites). While I do believe that exposure to people of different races and backgrounds is important to developing tolerance I also felt that the author greatly oversold it as a solution. In a few generations we may become so mixed that stoking the flames of racism would be like trying to stoke resentment between people of Italian and people of Irish descent today but that will likely take a few generations. And just because people are more mixed does not mean that they will agree with a progressive, anti-racist platform.
Still, I felt the information I got from the first part of the book was worth the time. If your interest is starting to flag through the middle though you're not missing much if you put it down.
August 27, 2020
PopSugar Challenge 2020: "A book on a subject you know nothing about."
This book was new information for me - yes, I knew that interracial marriage had been illegal in many states, but the history behind it was all new for me.
"Loving" takes you through how Africans were changed from bonded servants to slaves through to how we in the present can make changes in ourselves to help those who are oppressed by the systems our ancestors put in place (because of fear and a desire to keep the white race "pure").
I think this should be required reading for everyone - and that it should be studied in depth at schools.
This book was new information for me - yes, I knew that interracial marriage had been illegal in many states, but the history behind it was all new for me.
"Loving" takes you through how Africans were changed from bonded servants to slaves through to how we in the present can make changes in ourselves to help those who are oppressed by the systems our ancestors put in place (because of fear and a desire to keep the white race "pure").
I think this should be required reading for everyone - and that it should be studied in depth at schools.
August 25, 2017
A concise, compelling, and timely examination of the history of inter-racial marriage and race relations in America. The section on colonial history was especially surprising and interesting. Cashing deftly uses the 1967 Richard and Mildred Loving vs Virginia case which resulted in the Supreme Court overturning Virginia's anti-miscegenation laws as the basis for her examination. Her outlook is ultimately optimistic and her premise that love (romantic and platonic) is the strongest antidote to white supremacy is astute and persuasive. A great read!
June 1, 2019
A to-the-point history of interracial intimacy (sexual, romantic, and platonic) that places the Loving decision in a broader historical context and provides an optimistic evaluation of the path forward. Those looking specifically for a history of Loving v. Virginia may want to look elsewhere, but the longer history provided by Cashin is worth engaging with through this short but detailed book.
October 24, 2017
Wowzas. Want to know EVERYTHING about the history of interracial marriage in America? It’s right here, along with any and every rabbit hole you want to trail down when it comes to the subject. Bravo, Sheryll Cashin.
June 7, 2018
This is an important book, both for those of us who remember the "old days" when this kind of law was possible, and for those who are younger. It shows us how far we have come as a society and also reminds us of how much further we need to go.
June 19, 2019
Mostly dealt with history about the Loving case and how interracial relationship have been shaped by it. Making the argument that in fostering close interracial relationships we can work to fight white supremacy.
October 13, 2019
For someone who has never read about this case and the history of miscegenation laws in the US, this was a very enlightening book. Written really well and eminently readable. The last chapter though was a throwaway.
January 26, 2021
4.5 stars. Definitely worth a read to begin to learn about the beginning of race and how that has impacted and dictated American life to this day. Very interesting to learn about how interracial relationships impact everything from politics to our social lives.
August 9, 2017
Fantastic! A Lot of cultural historical facts (with sources) in this one. Really enjoyed the backstory of boxer Jack Johnson and John McCain's son. Learned a lot from this one.
October 23, 2017
The present/future section loses a bit of the tight researched focus of the first 2 segments but overall an excellent primer of systemic white supremacy in America through the lens of marriage.
March 8, 2018
It starts slow but is an excellent analysis of interracial romance through the ages. I highly recommend this book.
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