The Racial Divide--Have We Come A Long Way Or Not?

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This week marks the 50th anniversary of James E. Cheney's murder (an African American married to a white woman) along with two other white civil rights workers. I ran across the following letters to the editor of Eternity magazine on interracial marriage that I had filed a long time ago. There's no date on the page I saved, but it would have been sometime around 40 years ago. I'm using only the initials of the writers, but I have not otherwise edited any of the content:


Dear editor:

I did not like the article "What's Behind Our Interracial Marriage Taboos?". I do not and never will believe in mixed marriages. If this trend continues, there will eventually be no white or black people. I don't see why the black people can't be treated equally as to job opportunities, etc., but why endorse interracial marriage?
Articles like these and your magazine are just trying to "brainwash" our people into thinking it is the right thing to do. Discontinue my subscription.
H. P.
Lexington, Ky.


Lowell Noble's interpretation of the Bible and sociological studies are not true, judging by the nations that have fallen because of interracial marriage. Therefore please cancel my subscription.
Mrs. J. L.
Albany, Ga.


I am a Christian and love every child of God regardless of race or color. I have a niece and nephew who are in Africa who are missionaries.
But when it comes to interracial marriage I am very much against it. We should notice it is seldom that a white man marries a black woman. Usually a black man marries a white woman; it's nothing but lust and sensual desires.
Of course your modern churches, liberals, communists and civil rights forces are in favor of it. Take my name off your mailing list.
W. D.
Grand Rapids, Mich.


Lowell Nobel's article is a brilliant and perceptive one. It's way past time for such an article to be published.
A. J. B
State Line, Pa.


Now that you have so readily removed all barriers to the marriage of blacks and whites, perhaps you can give us another article in the near future proving to us that the cohabitation of humans and beasts is also permissible. Or what about one endorsing homosexuality and lesbians? Surely there are just as many good arguments for these things as for interracial marriages.
B. T. R.
Pasadena, Tex.