Tennessee's constitutional ban on interracial marriage dated back to 1870.[1] By 1945, thirty U.S. states had adopted anti-miscegenation laws in statute form or in their state constitutions, including all states in the South.[2] In 1967, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled interracial marriage bans to be in violation of the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, thereby striking down all state laws that had banned such marriages.[3] On August 9, 1977, delegates to the 1977 Tennessee Constitutional Convention voted 85–3 to place an amendment on the ballot to repeal the ban, making it the first amendment approved by the convention.[1]
The amendment, which was decided by Tennessee voters on March 7, 1978, alongside 12 other amendments referred by the 1977 Tennessee Constitutional Convention,[7] had the following information shown to voters for it:[8]
Proposal 1: Elimination of Prohibition of Interracial Marriages.
Be It Resolved, That Article XI, of the Constitution is hereby amended by deleting therefrom in its entirety Section 14 prohibiting interracial marriages.
For Constitutional Amendment []
Against Constitutional Amendment []
Amendment
The amendment repealed Article XI, Section 14 of the Tennessee Constitution, which had stated:[9]
Sec. 14 Intermarriage between whites and negros
The intermarriage of white persons with negroes, mulattos, or persons of mixed blood, descended from a negro to the third generation inclusive or their living together as man and wife in this State is prohibited. The legislature shall enforce this section by appropriate legislation.
Results
199,742 people voted in favor (51.02%) and 191,745 (48.98%) voted against.[10]
County
By county, the highest percentage of votes cast in favor came from Anderson County, with 64.30% in favor, and the lowest came from Pickett County, with 21.38% in favor.[10]
The following table details the results of the referendum by county:[10]
By congressional district, the highest percentage of votes cast in favor came from the eighth district, with 58.53% in favor, and the lowest came from the fourth district, with 43.63% in favor.[10][11]
The closeness of the vote was viewed as surprising by some newspapers,[4] and ironic by others.[7] With about 15% voter turnout, it had the lowest turnout since a similar 1953 special election where Tennessee voters decided eight constitutional amendments.[4]
