Anti-Miscegenation Laws and Racial Fluidity
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California's anti-miscegenation laws prohibited interracial marriages, contributing to greater racial segregation and fostering a pattern of marriages between Panjabi men and Mexican women, reflecting the fluidity of racial categories for South Asians and Hispanics in mid-20th century America. As Leonard mentions, anti-miscegenation laws in theory “prohibited marriages between persons of different races” (Leonard 68). However, in practice, they served to prevent interracial marriages between white and minority individuals. For America, it didn't matter what specific race South Asians and Hispanics identify with, all that mattered was that they were a racialized minority that should be segregated from the white majority. Therefore, South Asians and Hispanics were perceived similarly by the white majority. This racialized conceptualization of the fluidity between South Asians and Hispanics is what allowed interracial marriages to prevail despite California's anti-miscegenation laws.
Further, “pressure from Punjabis against marriages with black women” (Leonard 68) facilitated an emphasis on marriages with Hispanic women. Although relationships between Panjabi men and Black women during California's anti-miscegenation laws would not have been as possible because of the stricter racial categorization and segregation of black people in America during this time, anti-black prejudice of black women made Hispanic women “somewhat more favourable” (Leonard 63).
When California finally abolished its anti-miscegenation laws, the many marriages between Panjabi men and Hispanic women created a growing interracial community, fostering the development of a new blend between the two cultures. The abolishment of these anti-miscegenation laws occurred around the same time as when Indian wives and brides were finally allowed to be brought into India. From the data set presented by Leonard, most couples and families resided in the Imperial Valley, a majority speaking English, and a minority speaking Panjabi. These newly established cultural communities celebrated the cultures of both Panajabi and Hispanics, creating a unique blend and subsequent new culture in incorporating cultural traditions into the integration of Western society.