Forty years ago my marriage would have been illegal. While Asian/ white couples were not the main target of anti-miscegenation laws, Judge Leon Bazile, who wrote the original opinion, stated
"Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, Malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. . .The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix."
His ignorance seems almost laughable today, but unfortunately some people still believe that interracial marriage is unnatural or immoral. Although we no longer have to fear arrest, mixed-race families continue to face rude stares and even open hostility. Our children are sometimes treated as outsiders by both groups.
Still, there is no doubt we've come a long way since the Loving decision. We recently received the class portrait from my daughter's preschool, and out of the twenty or so children, seven are biracial. It gives me hope for a future in which there is no longer an "Asian table" or "black table" in the high school cafeteria, and people can marry whomever they choose, without worrying about social pressure.
--Weigook Saram