Interracial Marriages

BOSTON -- Cody Jones will patiently explain to friends that he's the son of a white mother and black father. But with all the world-weariness that a 15-year-old can muster, he'll sigh, "You are what people think you are," a fact that makes him identify more with his father. Now meet his sister, Julia Jones, who is less constrained by age-old codes of racial classifications that once compelled people with even one drop of black blood to call themselves black. When people want to know her racial background, she tells them she's black, white and Native American.

We recently read an article regarding the letter Del. Emmett C. Burns Jr. wrote to Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti on the subject of Brendon Ayanbadejo's support of same-sex marriage ("Burns backs off attempt to silence Raven," Sept. 10). Using his words, we are somewhat "appalled and aghast" that an elected official in Maryland would attempt to hinder the free speech of a fellow citizen. Delegate Burns and his constituents have every right to express their views, but so does Mr. Ayanbadejo.

IT WAS inevitable that a country founded on the ideal of equality would nourish a comforting vision of itself as a melting pot. It was equally predictable that the obstacles standing in the way of a true melting pot -- from the destructive influences of racism to the devotion of ethnic groups to long-held traditions -- would make the task difficult. Yet the great strength of this country's people has been their ability to rise to meet these challenges generation after generation.One such challenge -- whether to allow Americans to designate themselves as multiracial for Census purposes -- may seem a relatively minor one. But its implications and emotional resonance are far-reaching.

Kristian Feldstein (letter, May 17) asks if there is any harm in same-sex marriage. It is true that religious people believe marriage is between one man and one woman; a person entering into matrimony should work toward the good of his or her spouse and be open to the procreation of children. The very word "matrimony" comes from the Latin mater or "mother. " The trials of married life, usually involving children, forms a core bond of love over time that starts with the family and expands into a love of neighbor, benefiting society.

We recently read an article regarding the letter Del. Emmett C. Burns Jr. wrote to Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti on the subject of Brendon Ayanbadejo's support of same-sex marriage ("Burns backs off attempt to silence Raven," Sept. 10). Using his words, we are somewhat "appalled and aghast" that an elected official in Maryland would attempt to hinder the free speech of a fellow citizen. Delegate Burns and his constituents have every right to express their views, but so does Mr. Ayanbadejo.

Love and marriage, it's an institute you can't disparage.Not even in "Arranged Marriage," a two-act drama that will be performed at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at Anne Arundel Community College.Dr. Shree Iyengar, a chemistry professor at the college and the playwright, said his work looks at Indian arranged marriages and marriages that occur out of love, showing how both can be acceptable."It's still pretty much a contemporary issue in India," said Mr. Iyengar, a native of Madras in southeast India.

Kristian Feldstein (letter, May 17) asks if there is any harm in same-sex marriage. It is true that religious people believe marriage is between one man and one woman; a person entering into matrimony should work toward the good of his or her spouse and be open to the procreation of children. The very word "matrimony" comes from the Latin mater or "mother. " The trials of married life, usually involving children, forms a core bond of love over time that starts with the family and expands into a love of neighbor, benefiting society.

STROUDSBURG, Pa. -- Two days after their marriage, Angela Harms and Brian Storm were sorting through the aftereffects of a wedding: gifts to pack, soggy ice chests to empty, relatives to entertain, calls from TV talk shows to return."

When Victoria Cofield-Aber and her husband, Joel Aber, searched for a place to live, they picked Columbia. They believed the new town would welcome and respect their children.Mrs. Cofield-Aber is black. Mr. Aber is white and Jewish. "Columbia has been a great place to raise my children," she said. "My children can see children like themselves."The Wilde Lake pair is among many interracial couples who came to Columbia because of its reputation for diversity and tolerance. Nearly three decades after its founding, Columbia has achieved its goal of attracting a variety of residents -- more so than many other places in the United States, some interracial couples say.More than 1.2 million interracial couples live in this country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Deciding before facts are in on light railThe Glen Burnie Improvement Association has an interest and a voice in the extension of the light rail system into Glen Burnie Town Center as a ombudsman for the community and as a landowner adjacent to the original 66-foot B&A railway right-of-way, which is one of the alignments under study.The current proposal and posture taken by the GBIA board of directors is of great concern as a member, taxpayer and as a citizen concerned for the future of Glen Burnie.

As Maryland lawmakers debated the gay marriage bill, and Del. Luke Clippinger came out to colleagues on the House floor, one of his fellow Baltimore Democrats was moved to tears. "My colleague Luke, I sit right next to him, enduring all these weeks of negativity, for him to finally speak out and say why he's in favor of it, what it means to him, it just got emotional," Del. Keiffer Mitchell told me. There's another reason the gay marriage debate hit home for Mitchell.

The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act would legalize same-sex marriage in Maryland. The proposal presumes to invalidate religious opposition by exempting religious institutions from performing same-sex marriages - an unnecessary exemption, as no church can be forced to marry anyone. Proponents of same-sex marriage - as well as such marriage-equivalency arrangements as civil unions and domestic partnerships - claim that bills to legally create those relationships deal only with civil law and should be of no concern to people of faith.

That night, when JoAnn Kovacs danced the hula, love was part of the choreography. The band played the Hukilau, a fishing song, and ever so slowly she reeled him in with the smooth rotation of her hips. By the time he finally spoke to her, both their hearts were beating like hands on a log drum. His hei is made of real shells, she noticed, gazing at the headband in his dark hair. I love you, Meki To'alepai thought. A few minutes later, he said it aloud. That was December of 1963, in the basement Hawaiian Room in Baltimore's Emerson Hotel, where Meki's Polynesian dance troupe was performing.

BOSTON -- Cody Jones will patiently explain to friends that he's the son of a white mother and black father. But with all the world-weariness that a 15-year-old can muster, he'll sigh, "You are what people think you are," a fact that makes him identify more with his father. Now meet his sister, Julia Jones, who is less constrained by age-old codes of racial classifications that once compelled people with even one drop of black blood to call themselves black. When people want to know her racial background, she tells them she's black, white and Native American.

Deciding before facts are in on light railThe Glen Burnie Improvement Association has an interest and a voice in the extension of the light rail system into Glen Burnie Town Center as a ombudsman for the community and as a landowner adjacent to the original 66-foot B&A railway right-of-way, which is one of the alignments under study.The current proposal and posture taken by the GBIA board of directors is of great concern as a member, taxpayer and as a citizen concerned for the future of Glen Burnie.

IT WAS inevitable that a country founded on the ideal of equality would nourish a comforting vision of itself as a melting pot. It was equally predictable that the obstacles standing in the way of a true melting pot -- from the destructive influences of racism to the devotion of ethnic groups to long-held traditions -- would make the task difficult. Yet the great strength of this country's people has been their ability to rise to meet these challenges generation after generation.One such challenge -- whether to allow Americans to designate themselves as multiracial for Census purposes -- may seem a relatively minor one. But its implications and emotional resonance are far-reaching.

THIS HAS BEEN A strange and painful week; full of ironies and question marks.Here I am, living in the mecca of interracial couples -- Columbia -- a black man married to the same white woman for nearly 14 years, and I had to call Austin, Texas, to find an expert on what mixed-race couples are thinking in the wake of the O.J. verdict.Yvette Walker Hollis, publisher of New People magazine, a quarterly devoted to interracial news and opinion, was more than willing to answer my questions. It's been a while since the issue has come up, she said.

As Maryland lawmakers debated the gay marriage bill, and Del. Luke Clippinger came out to colleagues on the House floor, one of his fellow Baltimore Democrats was moved to tears. "My colleague Luke, I sit right next to him, enduring all these weeks of negativity, for him to finally speak out and say why he's in favor of it, what it means to him, it just got emotional," Del. Keiffer Mitchell told me. There's another reason the gay marriage debate hit home for Mitchell.

THIS HAS BEEN A strange and painful week; full of ironies and question marks.Here I am, living in the mecca of interracial couples -- Columbia -- a black man married to the same white woman for nearly 14 years, and I had to call Austin, Texas, to find an expert on what mixed-race couples are thinking in the wake of the O.J. verdict.Yvette Walker Hollis, publisher of New People magazine, a quarterly devoted to interracial news and opinion, was more than willing to answer my questions. It's been a while since the issue has come up, she said.

When Victoria Cofield-Aber and her husband, Joel Aber, searched for a place to live, they picked Columbia. They believed the new town would welcome and respect their children.Mrs. Cofield-Aber is black. Mr. Aber is white and Jewish. "Columbia has been a great place to raise my children," she said. "My children can see children like themselves."The Wilde Lake pair is among many interracial couples who came to Columbia because of its reputation for diversity and tolerance. Nearly three decades after its founding, Columbia has achieved its goal of attracting a variety of residents -- more so than many other places in the United States, some interracial couples say.More than 1.2 million interracial couples live in this country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.