The Story of Perez V. Sharp: Forgotten Lessons on Race, Law, and Marriage

Abstract

This chapter was included in the Race Stories book edited by Devon W. Carbado and Rachel F. Moran in 2008. It explores the story of Perez v. Sharp, which was the first post-Reconstruction case to invalidate an antimiscegenation law. In addition to providing information about the plaintiffs in this case and the landmark decision rendered by the California Supreme Court in 1948, the chapter tries to understand the current use of Perez in litigation to secure marriage rights for same-sex couples and why the case, which relatively few people have even heard of, has been so overshadowed by Loving v. Virginia. It argues that we should be "loving" Perez perhaps as much as Loving itself.