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African Americans and whites in the United States have witnessed a large amount of social and cultural desegregation of. Through years of desegregation, however, social and cultural differences still exist. They exist in the institution of marriage. Americans have been and are continually moving slowly away from segregation. "In the past forty years, laws have transformed schools, jobs, voting booths, neighborhoods, hotels, restaurants and even the wedding altar" (Ties that Bind). Since the 1960's, when housing discrimination was outlawed, many African Americans moved into predominately white neighborhoods. The steadily growing areas in the west and southwest are least segregated, because these areas never had the…"entrenched African American and white sections of town" (Afgen).

There are other signs that are visibly seen in the areas of education. A study, done by the University of Michigan, shows that integration on campuses occur on a regular basis. The racial lines are crossed routinely; about 50% of African Americans and 15% of whites reportedly study together and a percentage close to that also eat together. Socially, there has been a steady focus of opinion on a variety of racial issues. Since 1972, surveys have asked whether the respondent would favor a law making inter-racial marriages illegal. "Since 1901, there has been a ban on these interracial marriages in Alabama" (Afgen). In 1980 the results showed that 30% of whites and 18.3% of African Americans favor such a law. By 1994, data showed 14.7% and 3.2% respectively. Similar trends have also been observed in busing and even integrated social clubs (Ties that Bind). A simple analysis shows that complete desegregation is moving in the right direction.

Regardless of these examples of desegregation, a deeper look shows that there are still signs of racial discriminations, mostly seen in the institution of marriage between African Americans...