that made that illegal in 1967. 1967. the parents of the president-elect of the united states could not have married in nearly one-third of the states of the country their son grew up to lead. it's worse than that. if this country had not redefined marriage, some black people still couldn't marry other black people. it is one of the most overlooked and cruellest parts of our sad history of slavery. marriages were not legally recognized if the people were slaves. since slaves were property, they could not be legally husband or wife nor mother and child. their marriage vows were different, not until death do you part but until death or distance do you part. marriages among slaves were not legally recognized. you know, just like marriages to day in california are not legally recognized if the people are gay. and uncountable in our history are the number of men and women forced by society into marrying the opposite sex in sham marriages or marriages of