Randall Kennedy

In the following viewpoint, Harvard University law professor Randall Kennedy asserts that interracial marriages, particularly marriages between blacks and whites, should be promoted. Such intermarriage will help to dismantle racism as a growing number of blacks and whites build kinships across society’s traditional racial boundaries, writes Kennedy. Interracial couples do still face hostile opposition from both whites and nonwhites, he explains, but their efforts to develop loving transracial bonds are to be encouraged and applauded.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to Kennedy, what statute did Richard and Mildred Loving violate?
2. In 1990, what percentage of married blacks had a white spouse?
3. What three steps should be taken to encourage interracial marriage, in the author’s opinion"

The historical U.S. Supreme Court case titled Loving v. Virginia arose from the fact...