Interracial relationships. African-American male and white female.
This article presents author Diane Miller Sommerville’s viewpoints on the way African-American males were convicted of rape. It’s thought to be that the African-American males who “raped” their white female lovers were sentenced to death. However, Sommerville argues against that. She proves that in antebellum Virginia, these suspects were rather given lighter punishments such as being transported out of state or even to a penitentiary. However, she points out that this occurs when the white female accuser is of a lower social status. Sommerville even suggests that the lawmakers were somewhat sympathetic to the accused being that their white lovers cried rape after becoming pregnant by their colored lover. The courts would not always grant the pregnant white female’s family wishes and although marriage was not possible, she would still be required to carry out the pregnancy. Sommerville suggests that white males turned to lynching because the justice system was inoperative.
Although this article is relatively short, I chose it because it’s not something we are used to hearing about. In the recent weeks, we’ve learned that there have been many occurrences of interracial rapes between slaveowners and their female African-American slaves. However, this article gives us some insight on the flip side of that note, the rape between an African-American man and a white female.
Interracial relationships
Citation: Rape & Race in the Nineteenth-Century South by Diane Miller Sommerville, Review by: Edward E. Baptist, The Journal of American History , Vol. 92, No. 3 (Dec., 2005), p. 974
Url: http://www.jstor.org.ruby2.uhv.edu/stable/pdfplus/3660014.pdf?acceptTC=true
Southern Violence 
We’ve read a lot about rape of black men on women, but I have yet to think of consensual sexual relationship between a colored man and woman or vice versa.
I can’t believe that a white women would claim “rape” if they became pregnant by a colored man, but I guess that covers them up from being criticized and more about having sex with a colored man.
Wow this was very interesting! You’re right I do not think a lot of people have necessarily heard of this before. I have heard of white women having relations with black men in this era, but usually you hear about the lover being killed or brutally beaten. I too found it interesting that the woman would claim rape after becoming pregnant, but I guess in this era that would be better than to admit the truth since the truth would not have been acceptable.
Oh my!!!!!!! This article definitely brought about some new news to me. This is the first time I’ve heard of such an incident and find it to be quite interesting. It is shocking how the laws worked during the 19th century and how everything in general occurred. Good post!