Roldan v. Los Angeles County
Roldan v. Los Angeles County is a landmark 1933 California court case that addressed the racial classification of Filipinos concerning marriage laws. The case arose when Salvador Roldan, a Filipino man, was denied a marriage license to wed Marjorie Rogers, a white woman, due to prevailing miscegenation laws that prohibited interracial marriage. The California Court of Appeals ultimately ruled that Filipinos did not fall under the statutory definition of "Mongolian," thus allowing them to legally marry white individuals. This ruling marked a significant first for Filipino Americans in terms of legal recognition and racial classification.
However, the decision sparked a backlash that intensified anti-Asian sentiments in the western United States. In response, state officials pushed for amendments to restrict intermarriage between whites and Filipinos, leading to the California legislature classifying Filipinos as nonwhite shortly after the ruling. These amendments were signed into law in April 1933, just months after the court's decision, highlighting the ongoing challenges and complexities surrounding race relations in America, particularly for Filipino Americans during that era. The Roldan case serves as an important chapter in the history of racial discrimination and the legal battles faced by marginalized communities.
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Roldan v. Los Angeles County
In the case of Roldan v. Los Angeles County (1933), a California appeals court overturned a 1931 decision by a county clerk to deny a marriage license to Salvador Roldan, a Filipino, and Marjorie Rogers, a white woman. California law, while prohibiting miscegenation (interracial marriage or sexual relations), was unclear as to the racial classification of persons of “Malay” (Filipino) origin, leaving decisions regarding the race of individuals to local officials. The California Court of Appeals ruled in January 1933 that Filipinos did not fall under the statutory definition of “Mongolian” and thus were permitted under California law to marry whites.
The Roldan decision is significant as the first high court ruling on the racial classification of Filipino Americans. Nevertheless, the victory was a short-lived and pyrrhic one, producing a backlash that fueled anti-Asiatic sentiments in the western United States and negatively affected Filipino American race relations. Anti-Asian American state officials subsequently launched a campaign to restrict intermarriage between whites and Filipinos, culminating in adoption by the California legislature of two amendments to the antimiscegenation statutes classifying Filipinos as nonwhite. The amendments, introduced before the Roldan decision by state senator Herbert C. Jones, were signed into law by Governor James Rolph in April, 1933, and became effective the following August, less than seven months after the court’s ruling.
Bibliography
"Filipinos in the Americas." Ancestors in the Americas. PBS, n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.
Moran, Rachel F. Interracial Intimacy: The Regulation of Race and Romance. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2003. Print.
Odo, Franklin. The Columbia Documentary History of the Asian American Experience. New York: Columbia UP, 2002. Print.
"Roldan v. Los Angeles County." Casetext. Casetext, 2015. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.
Volpp, Leti. "American Mestizo: Filipinos and Antimiscegenation Laws in California." UC Davis Law Review 33 (1999). 795–835. Berkeley Law Scholarship Repository. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.