The Whole Staircase: Films Celebrating 400 Years of African American History & Culture

Despite the growing presence of intercultural couples in the United States and worldwide, their stories often go untold. In Intercultural Couples, Jill Bystydzienski provides a rare and comprehensive understanding of the multidimensional experiences of intercultural couples, drawing mainly upon in-depth interviews with persons living in domestic partnerships-heterosexual and same-sex-representing a broad spectrum of ethnic, racial, religious, socioeconomic, and national backgrounds. In these relationships, each partner brings a different set of cultural experiences that may include gender expectations, ideas about appropriate relations with family members, childrearing, financial matters, and general lifestyle. Sometimes differences may be unrecognized or seen as minimal, yet some can become salient, forming the basis for conflict, enriching diversity, or both. Bystydzienski's findings show that, despite hurtful incidents from persons outside the couple partnerships, intercultural unions are a source of satisfaction for the partners, and are able to bridge divisions and reduce inequalities between persons of diverse backgrounds, providing a rich portrait of how these couples negotiate their identities as individuals and as couples in relation to the outside world.

"On July 13, 1958, newlyweds Richard and Mildred Loving were rousted from their bed and arrested, accused of the crime of "miscegenation" under Virginia law. Mildred was of African American and Native American ancestry, Richard was white. Wanting only to live together as husband and wife, the couple eventually brought their case to the US Supreme Court. On June 12, 1967, the highest court ruled unanimously in their favor, a milestone in civil rights history. In the spring of 1965, as their case worked its way through the courts, Grey Villet, a celebrated photojournalist for Life magazine, was sent to document the Lovings' story. The Lovings: An Intimate Portrait presents the resulting photo-essay in its entirety for the first time. With a narrative by the former Life editor Barbara Villet, Grey's colleague and wife, the photos document the Lovings' love and commitment to family and community with an intensity and intimacy that is the signature of Grey Villet's award-winning work"-- Provided by publisher.

"In 1958 Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving, two young lovers from Caroline County, Virginia, got married. Soon they were hauled out of their bedroom in the middle of the night and taken to jail. Their crime? Loving was white, Jeter was not, and in Virginia--as in twenty-three other states then--interracial marriage was illegal. Their experience reflected that of countless couples across America since colonial times. And in challenging the laws against their marriage, the Lovings closed the book on that very long chapter in the nation's history. Race, Sex, and the Freedom to Marry tells the story of this couple and the case that forever changed the law of race and marriage in America.
The story of the Lovings and the case they took to the Supreme Court involved a community, an extended family, and in particular five main characters--the couple, two young attorneys, and a crusty local judge who twice presided over their case--as well as such key dimensions of political and cultural life as race, gender, religion, law, identity, and family. In Race, Sex, and the Freedom to Marry, Peter Wallenstein brings these characters and their legal travails to life, and situates them within the wider context--even at the center--of American history. Along the way, he untangles the arbitrary distinctions that long sorted out Americans by racial identity--distinctions that changed over time, varied across space, and could extend the reach of criminal law into the most remote community. In light of the related legal arguments and historical development, moreover, Wallenstein compares interracial and same-sex marriage.
A fair amount is known about the saga of the Lovings and the historic court decision that permitted them to be married and remain free. And some of what is known, Wallenstein tells us, is actually true. A detailed, in-depth account of the case, as compelling for its legal and historical insights as for its human drama, this book at long last clarifies the events and the personalities that reconfigured race, marriage, and law in America"-- Provided by publisher.
"Only a few decades ago marriage between people of different races was banned in many states. This is the story of an interracial Virginia couple who left Virginia to get married and then returned to live there as a couple, where they were arrested for violating state laws against interracial cohabitation. The appeal of their conviction became the case in which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down laws against interracial marriage and cohabitation"-- Provided by publisher.