Syracuse University SURFACE College of Law - Faculty Scholarship College of Law Summer 7-26-2012 Slaves in the Family: Testamentary Freedom and Interracial Deviance Kevin Noble Maillard Syracuse University College of Law,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/lawpub Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Maillard, Kevin Noble, "Slaves in the Family: Testamentary Freedom and Interracial Deviance" (2012). College of Law - Faculty Scholarship. 76. https://surface.syr.edu/lawpub/76 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Law at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in College of Law - Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Slaves in the Family: Testamentary Freedom and Interracial Deviance Kevin Noble Maillard* Syracuse University College of Law
[email protected] (917) 698-6362 ABSTRACT This Article addresses the deviance of interracial sexuality acknowledged in testamentary documents. The language of wills calls into question the authority of probate and family law by forcing issues of deviance into the public realm. Will dramas, settled in or out of court, publicly unearth insecurities about family. Many objections to the stated intent of the testator generate from social prejudices toward certain kinds of interpersonal relationships: nonmarital, homosexual, and/or interracial. When pitted against an issue of a moral or social transgression, testamentary intent often fails. In order for these attacks on testamentary validity to succeed, they must be situated within an existing juridical framework that supports and adheres to the hegemony of denial that refuses to legitimate the wishes of the testator.