The Unequal Promise of Marriage Equality

What kind of right is the right to marry? “The Unequal Promise of Marriage Equality” examines the coincident decisions of Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder, which invalidated a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, and United States v. Windsor, which declared unconstitutional the Defense of Marriage Act and opened the door to federal recognition of same-sex marriage in the United States. In considering these decisions, I argue against popular readings that interpreted the former decision as a regressive turn from racial equality and the latter as a progressive move toward equality for same-sex couples. Instead, I read the power relations legislated in the “right to marry,” a right whose racialized history demands a more complex vision of what constitutes a progressive politics.