Interracial Relationships

Until 1967, many states had anti-miscegenation laws, which prohibited interracial marriages. New York was one of the few states not to have these laws in place, yet interracial marriages still caused an uproar in the infamous and highly publicized Rhinelander v. Rhinelander case of the 1920s, in which Alice Jones was accused of hiding that she was Black from her husband and passing as white. This trial shows the contemporary public’s understanding and fear of passing. Greene never married but had a decadelong love affair with art historian Bernard Berenson.