86% of Americans Are OK With Interracial Marriage

A full 86% of US adults approve of interracial marriage, a new Gallup poll shows—quite a change from the 4% who approved in 1958. UPI touts the high number, noting that approval is at its highest point yet, with the nation “on the verge of unanimity on the topic.” But, as Margaret Hartmann notes on Jezebel, that number also implies that “more than one in 10 people are against two people loving each other because of the color of their skin.”

African Americans approved of interracial marriage at a higher rate of 96%, while 84% of whites approved. Approval is also somewhat lower among Southerners, Republicans, conservatives, and those with less education. The least approving? The elderly, of whom just 66% approved. (More interracial marriage stories.)