The Mixed Marriages Act of 1949 created a legal boundary between people of different races. It prohibited marriage and sexual relations between whites and people of another race. If you didn’t abide by these laws you were immediately taken to jail. Blacks could marry people of mixed race (any non-white) with no legalities. Mixed-race couples who were married prior to the law had to apply for permission to live together. If there were ‘surplus’ blacks living with them then those 'surplus' had to go live somewhere else.