Posted on Mar 1, 2016
SPC Andrew Griffin
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Racial integrity laws were passed by the General Assembly to protect "whiteness" against what many Virginians perceived to be the negative effects of race-mixing. They included the Racial Integrity Act of 1924, which prohibited interracial marriage and defined as white a person "who has no trace whatsoever of any blood other than Caucasian"; the Public Assemblages Act of 1926, which required all public meeting spaces to be strictly segregated; and a third act, passed in 1930, that defined as black a person who has even a trace of African American ancestry. This way of defining whiteness as a kind of purity in bloodline became known as the "one drop rule." These laws arrived at a time when a pseudo-science of white superiority called eugenics gained support by groups like the Anglo-Saxon Clubs of America, which argued that the mixing of whites, African Americans, and Virginia Indians could cause great societal harm, despite the fact that the races had been intermixed since European settlement. From his position as the state registrar of vital statistics, Walter A. Plecker micromanaged the racial classifications of Virginians, often worrying that blacks were attempting to pass as white. Virginia Indians were particularly incensed by the laws, and by Plecker in particular, because the state seemed intent on removing any legal recognition of Indian identity in favor of the broader category "colored." After one failed try, lawmakers largely achieved this goal in 1930, drawing negative reaction from the black press. The Racial Integrity Act remained on the books until 1967, when the U.S. Supreme Court, in Loving v. Virginia, found its prohibition of interracial marriage to be unconstitutional. In 2001, the General Assembly denounced the act, and eugenics, as racist.
Edited 9 y ago
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SSG Ed Mikus
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I will not deny there were negatives with all the movements and laws that have brought us (races/genders/religion) to a more equal footing, but the fact is, i am proud to live in a country where these things are issues and are discussed! countries where these are not issues and/or are not discussed only have it so because it is accepted and enforced by law. That, is a world i do not want my children to be exposed to yet i feel our countrymen are fighting each other to bring that back into our country.
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CW3 Dick McManus
CW3 Dick McManus
4 y
Lots of words but the point of the comment escapes me.
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SFC Randy Hellenbrand
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Brought to you by yesterdays democrats who are now todays GOP.
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PV2 Scott Goodpasture
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There's always a government crony with a stick up his ass. He dead by now and surely his sons have taken his place. I hope however that everybody realizes that not everyone has a stick up his ass. Racism exists in the world because there are races. If you could stop everyone from being self aware would you? I wouldn't. Imagine mindless automaton drones unaware of there culture and heritage. Doesn't mean we don't show each other respect for each other's human rights.
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PV2 Scott Goodpasture
PV2 Scott Goodpasture
9 y
And by the way I'll marry whom I desire not who some government jack wagons think I should or shouldn't
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CW3 Dick McManus
CW3 Dick McManus
4 y
I like being mindless of my culture or heritage. My my family tree goes back to 1650 so which heritage should be mindful of given all the genes added to my family tree since then? I do not like your comment, if I fully understand what the hell you are saying.
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