Alabama’s Anti-Miscegenation Statutes: Nullifying Black-White Marriage in Alabama
This is Part 2 of a 7-part series entitled, “Alabama’s Anti-Miscegenation Statutes.” I posted Part 1, “A Short History of Anti-Miscegenation Statutes,” last week. Setting Precedent (1868-1881) In addition to a law disallowing marriage between whites and blacks, the Alabama Penal Code of 1866 adopted laws governing adultery. Whereas Alabama Code § 3598 outlined the repercussions of adultery offenses generally, Alabama Code § 3602 specifically addressed the penalties for adultery between white and black persons: If any white person or negro, or the descendant of any negro, to the third generation inclusive, though one ancestor of each generation was a...