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Interracial Intimacies: Sex, Marriage, Identity, and Adoption
From the author of The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word and Race, Crime, and the Law —a tour de force about the controversial issue of personal interracial intimacy as it exists within ever-changing American social mores and within the rule of law.
Fears of transgressive interracial relationships, informed over the centuries by ugly racial biases and fantasies, still linger in American society today. This brilliant study—ranging from plantation days to the present—explores the historical, sociological, legal, and moral issues that continue to feed and complicate that fear.
In chapters filled with provocative and cleanly stated logic and enhanced by intriguing historical anecdotes, Randall Kennedy tackles such subjects as the presence of sex in racial politics and of race in sexual politics, the prominence of legal institutions in defining racial distinction and policing racial boundaries, the imagined and real pleasures that have attended interracial intimacy, and the competing arguments around interracial romance, sex, and family life throughout American history.
In Interracial Intimacies , Randall Kennedy offers nothing less than a bracing, much-needed ethic of multiracial living.
Fears of transgressive interracial relationships, informed over the centuries by ugly racial biases and fantasies, still linger in American society today. This brilliant study—ranging from plantation days to the present—explores the historical, sociological, legal, and moral issues that continue to feed and complicate that fear.
In chapters filled with provocative and cleanly stated logic and enhanced by intriguing historical anecdotes, Randall Kennedy tackles such subjects as the presence of sex in racial politics and of race in sexual politics, the prominence of legal institutions in defining racial distinction and policing racial boundaries, the imagined and real pleasures that have attended interracial intimacy, and the competing arguments around interracial romance, sex, and family life throughout American history.
In Interracial Intimacies , Randall Kennedy offers nothing less than a bracing, much-needed ethic of multiracial living.
688 pages, Hardcover
First published January 7, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
November 11, 2009
A book with a bibliography that goes on for thirty pages may seem daunting, but this one is indeed rewarding. It has another well-executed opening: the story of Jacqueline Henley. This orphan, under the age of two, was given by her aunt to the authorities in 1952 because "the child possibly was a nigger [in fact, biracial:]" (3). Because she was registered as a white person at birth, however, the law prevented her adoption by the black foster family that wanted her. Jacqueline lived in limbo, ironically sent to a blacks-only orphanage, before eventually being adopted by a black family in another state. Laws to prevent miscegenation were extended to adoption and had a devastating and unintended effect on this small child.
This moving story is a launching point for Kennedy's discussion of marriage and adoption between the races (mostly between white and black people). It starts with coercive or transgressive relationships before emancipation, and goes up to contemporary discussions of whether intraracial adoption is preferable. Topics include passing, the "one drop" rule, barriers faced by interracial couples wanting to marry, the problems faced by biracial people in a divided society and reasons blacks sometimes oppose intermarriage. Kennedy repeatedly shows how the law affects the choices we are able to make in our daily lives, and exposes the appalling degree of prejudice behind the law. Though I took pleasure in the rigor of his language, I found a few of the chapters skippable, diverging from the main argument to talk about specific cases when he'd already made the point sufficiently. I think the book is important, more as a provocative opening discussion than as a comprehensive, definitive study. Page after page reveals fascinating facts and interpretations central to the development of our society.
This moving story is a launching point for Kennedy's discussion of marriage and adoption between the races (mostly between white and black people). It starts with coercive or transgressive relationships before emancipation, and goes up to contemporary discussions of whether intraracial adoption is preferable. Topics include passing, the "one drop" rule, barriers faced by interracial couples wanting to marry, the problems faced by biracial people in a divided society and reasons blacks sometimes oppose intermarriage. Kennedy repeatedly shows how the law affects the choices we are able to make in our daily lives, and exposes the appalling degree of prejudice behind the law. Though I took pleasure in the rigor of his language, I found a few of the chapters skippable, diverging from the main argument to talk about specific cases when he'd already made the point sufficiently. I think the book is important, more as a provocative opening discussion than as a comprehensive, definitive study. Page after page reveals fascinating facts and interpretations central to the development of our society.
November 21, 2025
About interracial "intimacies": marriage, sex, adoption, and identity. Much of the book is historical, going through the history of interracial relationships, how they were viewed legally, socially, morally, and culturally, famous interracial relationships, and more. In the history of American racism, interracial relationships were seen as the worst-case scenario of any effort toward racial justice. If you free the slaves or integrate the schools, then there might be interracial marriage, which could not, under any circumstances, happen. As you might imagine, there was a great deal of violence and exploitation. When Black men were accused of raping a white woman, they were either lynched or given a show trial, often with the same result either way. Inversely, white men often raped Black women with impunity, before and after slavery.
This book gets points for being very informative; I learned a ton, especially historically. I do knock some points off because Kennedy makes some bad arguments that I think are poorly formed. He criticizes “race matching,” or the practice of preferring same race adoptive parents for foster youth. This is enshrined in the law for Native Americans (ICWA) and often practiced for Black children. His criticisms are solid; he points out that race matching often leads to stigmatizing interracial adoptions and needlessly delays adoptions. He doesn’t do a thorough job, however, of countering the arguments in favor of race matching, such as preserving culture or parents being better able to educate their children about racism. He addresses these arguments, but in a kind of lazy, hand wavy way that bothered me. Kennedy also accuses the Black community of being too supportive of Black men accused of assaulting white women. But this book was written before the exoneration of the Central Park Five, and he points to that as an example of the Black community being too defensive. Obviously, a bad example to make his point, and it kinda irritated me.
3.5 stars. So much to learn and think about, but I didn’t like many of Kennedy's normative arguments
Quotes
Although the precise extent to which white men used their racial privileges to subject black women to unwanted sex will never be known, it is clear that such abuse cast a chilling shadow that touched most African Americans as an immediate menace. Of all the dreadful cruelties of slavery, among the worst were the widespread sexual violation of black women and the wholesale failure of law and public opinion to redress it.
As one student of the Reconstruction period has observed, "The spectre of miscegenation was... a bugaboo which the white southerners in Congress and their northern sympathizers overworked at every opportunity. It became the reductio ad absurdum of the congressional debates. Whenever anyone proposed measures for the protection of Negro rights, the cry 'Do you want your daughter to marry a Negro?' was raised."
This book gets points for being very informative; I learned a ton, especially historically. I do knock some points off because Kennedy makes some bad arguments that I think are poorly formed. He criticizes “race matching,” or the practice of preferring same race adoptive parents for foster youth. This is enshrined in the law for Native Americans (ICWA) and often practiced for Black children. His criticisms are solid; he points out that race matching often leads to stigmatizing interracial adoptions and needlessly delays adoptions. He doesn’t do a thorough job, however, of countering the arguments in favor of race matching, such as preserving culture or parents being better able to educate their children about racism. He addresses these arguments, but in a kind of lazy, hand wavy way that bothered me. Kennedy also accuses the Black community of being too supportive of Black men accused of assaulting white women. But this book was written before the exoneration of the Central Park Five, and he points to that as an example of the Black community being too defensive. Obviously, a bad example to make his point, and it kinda irritated me.
3.5 stars. So much to learn and think about, but I didn’t like many of Kennedy's normative arguments
Quotes
Although the precise extent to which white men used their racial privileges to subject black women to unwanted sex will never be known, it is clear that such abuse cast a chilling shadow that touched most African Americans as an immediate menace. Of all the dreadful cruelties of slavery, among the worst were the widespread sexual violation of black women and the wholesale failure of law and public opinion to redress it.
As one student of the Reconstruction period has observed, "The spectre of miscegenation was... a bugaboo which the white southerners in Congress and their northern sympathizers overworked at every opportunity. It became the reductio ad absurdum of the congressional debates. Whenever anyone proposed measures for the protection of Negro rights, the cry 'Do you want your daughter to marry a Negro?' was raised."
June 3, 2010
This book was amazing and attempts to tack the complex history of race in our country. The most fascinating of all is the constant reminder that pigmentation and our different shades as a human family has and still does cause just an uproar and keeps us stagnant in our progression and thinking.
The book was realistic but also provided some interesting points that could definitely be considered in regards to our approach of race relations. I was at first concerned because the book attempted to tackle a variety issues all under the umbrella of race --yet the author managed to do it well.
The book was realistic but also provided some interesting points that could definitely be considered in regards to our approach of race relations. I was at first concerned because the book attempted to tackle a variety issues all under the umbrella of race --yet the author managed to do it well.
April 18, 2024
There are plenty of informative academic studies detailing how the United States has through legal and police means, historically controlled black and white integration. Most of these books study slavery, Jim Crow laws and more contemporary political means such as bank redlining. Interracial intimacy has mostly been covered by novels and films, as few academics study how the government controlled and coerced black social interactions, particularly black-white sexual intimacy. Randall Kennedy’s book is in-depth scholarly investigation, thankfully devoid of academic jargon. He does a remarkable job of bringing to life a world people who transgressed society and governmental coercion. He also discusses an array of activist perspectives on black-white relationships with honesty and intelligence. It is clear that Kennedy did a huge amount of research, and the book sometimes gets bogged down with him sharing many stories, all making the same point. However, this is an engrossing, worthwhile read.
August 5, 2024
Being in an interracial relationship myself, and having three mixed race children, I found much of this touching. I'm especially relieved that the world in general, and our country in particular, is much more accepting of interracial relationships.
The only thing I found troubling about this book was the lengthy chapter focusing on rape, particularly white master over slave rape. I understand this is important history and should never be ignored under any circumstances, but I didn't expect to read about it in detail in a book with "intimacy" in the title.
The only thing I found troubling about this book was the lengthy chapter focusing on rape, particularly white master over slave rape. I understand this is important history and should never be ignored under any circumstances, but I didn't expect to read about it in detail in a book with "intimacy" in the title.
July 12, 2024
This was the first book I read by Randall Kennedy and have since read three more of his books. This book was incredibly well researched and written. I read every footnote. Just an incredible historical accounting.
July 14, 2022
This is the best book I've read so far in 2022.
January 29, 2010
I'm quitting. Being a queer white person who wants to parent, I am interested in issues around interracial adoption, but I didn't even get to that part cause I realized about 150 pages in that I really didn't trust Kennedy enough to offer an interesting or challenging analysis. His focus is entirely on black/white heterosexual relationships, which I suppose is fine because it's a broad enough topic in and of itself, but it approached it from an angle and with a lense that left me bored and frustrated. He is almost dismissive of inquiries related to power and privilege and doesn't at all deal with psychology, emotions, identity, or culture. His legal and historical content is extensive, but it got tiring after a while. (Take the example of this random black man married to this white woman. Now take this example of this random white woman married to this random black man. Now take this example of this random black celebrity married to this random white person...and on and on.)
April 1, 2010
The title of this book is misleading. The scope of Kennedy's work here is primarily limited to White/Black intimate and sociological relations in the United States from Antebellum to the present. The reader looking for a broad examination of interracial relationships inclusive of all ethnicities will not find one here. This is a subject worthy of more attention considering that the number of interracial marriages in the US alone increased over 800% from 1960 to 2000, compared to an increase of just 40% for the number of all married couples. 'Interracial Intimacies' is substantial and well researched for what it is though.
September 20, 2007
Best book that I've read in years. Don't judge this book by its cover or title. It has little to do with what you are expecting. A scholarly treatise that belongs on any serious academics bookshelf. Kennedy never fails to up the ante. Thorough.
"Washington was beaten with shovels and bricks … was castrated, and his ears were cut off. A tree supported the iron chain that lifted him above the fire. … Wailing, the boy attempted to climb up the skillet hot chain. For this, the men cut off his fingers."
"Washington was beaten with shovels and bricks … was castrated, and his ears were cut off. A tree supported the iron chain that lifted him above the fire. … Wailing, the boy attempted to climb up the skillet hot chain. For this, the men cut off his fingers."
April 13, 2015
Wow. Such a thoughtful and in-depth analysis of race and love/family, especially fascinating to hear more of the legal history on race/family issues. I was surprised and challenged by his push back on cultural competency tests for white adoptive parents, and his dissection of prevalent racial attitudes. Definitely worth a read to gain context around these issues and to sort through your own ideas and assumptions.
October 6, 2016
What did I learn from this book? That I shouldn't worry about my extremely white self adopting Ethiopian girls! This is a FASCINATING book, extremely well written and persuasive. The (legal) evidence he's collected is a sorry history, and important to understand. I even wrote Prof. Kennedy a fan letter, and he replied. Pretty cool! So, is it clear now that I LOVED this book?
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March 25, 2015Despite this book's place in "could-not-finish", I was very impressed with what I read. I just have a lot of trouble with these scholarly theoretical works. I hope to come back to this book some day and read more of it, because it looks to be very good.
March 27, 2011
It's an interesting book, but it really does end up being almost a list of one case or incident after another.
I was looking more for something about the psychology and issues within an interracial relationship rather than just discussing the history of them.
I was looking more for something about the psychology and issues within an interracial relationship rather than just discussing the history of them.
Currently reading
June 10, 2012Slow start, dense reading , very interesting
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September 19, 2018I thought the book was interesting.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews