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The New Melting Pot
Jefferson Flanders
Step onto the T, stroll through Boston’s streets this autumn, and you will quickly encounter couples of differing races
who have met and fallen in love.
You wouldn’t need to know the results from the Gallup Poll released last week to realize that interracial dating—among
white, blacks, Hispanics and Asians—is now not only quite common, but also is accepted by a sizeable majority of Americans.
In fact, the annual Gallup Minority Rights and Relations poll shows that most Americans (more than 70% of those surveyed)
approved of whites and blacks dating. Slightly less than half of Americans said they have dated someone from a different racial
or ethnic group. Some 95% of those between 18-29 wholeheartedly embrace the notion of interracial romance.
These results are a sign of how America is changing for the better. Some percentage of those interracial couples currently
dating will marry and have children, adding to the diversity and richness of our national makeup.
We have come a long way. Within my lifetime, the definition of a “mixed marriage” has shifted from a Catholic
marrying a Protestant, or someone of Irish descent marrying an Italian-American, to—today’s definition—the
true mingling of races.
So the melting pot is making a comeback. U.S. Census data supports the idea that we are becoming a more multi-racial society,
fusing race, religion and ethnicity into a distinctly American stew. Want the evidence? Just look at Tiger Woods, Johnny Damon,
Jessica Alba, Vin Diesel, Halle Berry, Michelle Branch, Derek Jeter and countless other less well-known mixed race Americans.
We shouldn’t be surprised. All of this is a quite natural development for a nation of immigrants. And the public acceptance
and tolerance mirrored in the Gallup results can be seen as a natural outgrowth of American revolutionary thinking.
After all, the Founders stressed the idea of individual freedom, including that famous “pursuit of happiness.”
Who we choose to love, or to marry, is a personal and private decision, part and parcel of a freedom of choice that we hold
dear.
Then there is the notion of equality. The Gallup results suggest we are making progress towards that ideal, at least in the
personal attitudes we hold. Interracial and interethnic dating and marriage chip away at the underpinning of racist ideology.
And as a practical matter, it’s harder to hold onto bigoted views when your extended family may grow to include blacks,
Asians and Hispanics.
Finally, the idea of becoming an American has always meant that other allegiances and traditions would be left behind. Over
time, interracial dating and marriage will work to bind our society together. We are more likely to see ourselves as Americans
(by choice), and less as members of isolated ethnic or racial groups.
At a time when the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has reopened difficult questions of race in America, these Gallup poll results
represent welcome news. They suggest the growing reality of a new national melting pot. They hold out the promise of a more
accepting, more culturally diverse country in the 21st century.
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