The slow approval of interracial marriages in the United States
Via Paul Krugman on Threads, I discover this plot.
Based on a series of Gallup polls, the plot shows the proportion of adults who say they “approve” interracial marriages between Black people and White people in the United States.
In 1958, only 4% of the population approved of interracial marriages. It wasn’t until the 1990s that a majority of the American population approved of interracial marriages.
When approval rate is grouped by racial group, the data shows at least two phenomenon.
- It was primarily White people who were slow to approve of interracial marriages.
- Even though Black people have approved of interracial marriages since 1968, the proportion that approved was a slim majority in the late 1960s.
More details are available on the Gallup website:
U.S. Approval of Interracial Marriage at New High of 94%
Ninety-four percent of U.S. adults now approve of marriages between Black people and White people. Just 4% approved when Gallup first asked the question in 1958.
Justin McCarthy
