Today we bring you another episode in our ongoing first-person series stories of San Diego's told in their own voices. It's been 50 years since the Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case loving versus Virginia that overturned rules prohibiting interracial marriage. Has been steadily climbing in San Diego County has one of the highest interracial marriage rates in the United States. Many are married to someone of a different race or as the city. As part of our ongoing first-person series we will tell you the love story of one of San Diego's interracial couples who have been married for 24 years. People basically told us that we would not last past the first dates. We chatted aside from the beginning we either have to be really strong or just -- and just follow our hearts to get through all of this or we are going to have to go our separate ways. My name is Amy. I have been in San Diego since 1988 I missed -- and a California girl. I am white and my husband is black and we have been together 25 years and married 24 years. My name is Jamie I grew up in Southeast San Diego. I went to leak in high school I served in the United States Army I have been all over the world. My husband and I actually met on the 805 freeway. Avicenna -- I was in a big sisters program. Was in the call -- car with my little sister star. There were five black sports cars next to us. My little sister was 15 at the time was waiting at the cars. I told her stop waving at the cars. All of the men in those cars are too old for you to you are 15 years old. She said no. I know one of them he used to volunteer and teach my basketball team when I was younger. It was me and my friends who play professional sports. We were driving down the 805 and summary was like hey I think somebody is waving at you. So I'm looking and I see there is star. We would go out and we would meet at my friends house. As we were there who will start coming down the street. I said who is that woman you are in the car was. I said that is my big sister. I said how can that be your big sister. She said I am in the big sisters program. So I decided to give her my phone number to give to her at the time. Apparently -- she called me on the phone we spoke for hours. She came back and we got together and have been together ever since. The rest is history. As we were dating -- she experienced it more than I did. I am six foot three 200 pounds number is going to say anything to me. People my race what that means it sellout and things like that One of the things that's interesting about being an interracial couple is normal things that a couple of the same race do not have to deal with. We have all of these different things that come up. For example I remember when my husband and I were dating. I called my mom to talk about how excited I was and we were getting very serious. She said something that came from a loving place but she said I worry about my grandchildren. I worry about how society is under treatment grandchildren. I thought to myself while my brother and my sister would not have had that worry. They are both married to white people at the fact that that moment that was something that my mom thought about was really kind of an interesting -- we are going to have to deal with all sorts of stuff. We dealt with family members that did not want us to be together because a white woman is not supposed to be with a black man and vice versa. Because I'm a writer and have a lot of articles written about us in regards to our marriage and many of the comments in the comment section got pretty horrible and people saying your family should be hanging for trees immersive disgusting -- you are so disgusting how can you be together. We have had people call us so many made -- names. There are 1 million more loving words. The leading case means so much to me because really these quiet and kind people just loved each other and wanted to be married have no idea what they were going to come up against and what they were going to end up doing. We were us because of the lovings. They fought for each one of us to have the right to be married. How crazy that we could not be married in my lifetime because of my skin color. I never knew that it existed until she told me about it. I always thought I could marry whoever I wanted to. I did not know that it was illegal to marry somebody of a different race. Now I saw the movie and I understand that. I do not think it is a surprise. It is work. In this work between both people. I think also because we are so different we not only have the race aspect we have come from completely opposite sides of the track. And how much we love each other and how willing they were. That was pretty spineless the Cabrera.
They were told they would not make it past the first date. Amy and Jamie Wise of San Diego say they faced discrimination and some family members expressed concerns about their relationship because they were dating someone of another race.
But they decided to follow their hearts. Today the couple has been married for 24 years.
“There are a lot of things we dealt with, and still deal with,” said Amy Wise. “My husband has been called the n-word, I’ve been called white trash. We’ve had people call our daughter monkey. And on the flip side for every hateful word that comes at us, there’s a million more loving words.”
On June 12, the nation marks the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the landmark civil rights case Loving v. Virginia. That decision overturned laws prohibiting interracial marriage. Since then, the number of interracial marriages in the country has been steadily climbing. San Diego County has one of the highest intermarriage rates in the U.S. According to the Pew Research Center, 27-percent of newlyweds in the region are married to someone of a different race or ethnicity.
As part of our ongoing First Person series, the Wise’s share the struggles and joy they have experienced as an interracial couple in San Diego.
