Final answer:
Anti-miscegenation laws in the United States, which prohibited interracial marriages, were declared unconstitutional in the 1967 Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia. This marked the end of legally sanctioned discrimination against interracial marriage and enhanced recognition of multiracial identities, evidenced by changes in census category options.
Step-by-step explanation:
Throughout U.S. history, there have been periods when interracial marriages were not legally recognized, and these marriages faced significant discrimination. Laws that prohibited marriage between individuals of different races—known as anti-miscegenation laws—were prevalent in many states. The Virginia Racial Integrity Act of 1924, for example, deemed persons with any minority ancestry to be non-White and outlawed interracial marriage.
These discriminatory laws were reflective of a wider societal pressure for individuals of mixed ancestry to identify with a single heritage, especially those with African ancestry. The situation began to change with the help of key legislative and judicial milestones. In 1948, the Supreme Court of California ruled in Perez v. Sharp that prohibiting interracial marriage was unconstitutional, but it wasn’t until 1967, with the landmark Supreme Court decision in Loving v. Virginia, that all state laws prohibiting interracial marriage were declared unconstitutional, based on the 14th Amendment. This important decision removed legal barriers and helped to reduce the social stigma attached to racial exogamy.
Today, the number of interracial and interethnic married couples has increased significantly, with such relationships and marriages celebrated nationally on June 12th as Loving Day. In recent times, the understanding and recognition of multiple racial identities have further evolved with the U.S. Census now allowing individuals to identify by more than a single racial or ethnic group.