Obviously the Virginia legislature is not always correct. HBO will air The Loving Story on February 14, Valentine Day. The Lovings were an interracial couple from Caroline County, Virginia. They grew up, fell in love, and married in Washington, DC. They failed to realize that just living together as man and wife was also illegal.
It’s hard to believe that this nonsense went on back in the 19th century…..wait! It wasn’t the 19th century! This nonsense has been in my lifetime! From Visitcaroline.com:
The Beginning
Richard Loving was born October 29, 1933.Mildred Delores Jeter was born June 22, 1939.
They grew up and lived as neighbors in Caroline County, Virginia, near Central Point where they fell in love. Because of the Racial Integrity Act of 1924, interracial marriage was illegal in the Commonwealth of Virginia so Mildred and Richard married on June 2, 1958 in Washington, D.C.
They returned to Caroline County, and they were later arrested on July 14th in their home by Caroline Sheriff Garnett Brooks and two deputies. On January 6, 1959, the Lovings were prosecuted and convicted of violating the state’s anti-miscegenation law.
Judge Leon M. Bazile sentenced each to a one-year jail term at a state penitentiary. However, Judge Bazile promised to suspend their sentences if they agreed to leave the state and not return for 25 years.
The story continued and eventually the case came before the Supreme Court and was THE test case that overturned miscegenation laws in the United States. Loving v. Virginia was handed down in 1967. Inter-racial marriage has only been legal in all states, including our own, for 45 years.
Just to put a few things on the time line:
Brown v. Board of Education 1954 (desegregation)
Griswold v. Connecticut 1965 (privacy, contraception)
Loving v. Virginia 1967 (privacy, interracial marriage)
Roe v. Wade 1973 (privacy, abortion rights)
Speak all we want about ‘judicial activism (citizens united?), would any of these cases ever been solved at the state level considering all things? Probably not but they were critical, landmark decisions. It is critical to keep in mind that Mrs. Loving would be only 73 years old if she were alive today. If you are 45 or older, this case was decided in your lifetime.
The Loving Story looks like a must-see! The Racial Intergrity Act of 1924, a Virginia Law, forbid a white person to marry anyone who wasn’t white.
I had goose bumps watching this preview. It’s hard to believe this story was a mere 50 years ago, really scary,really scary.
Why is the state of Virginia so obsessed with sex?
@Elena I would like to say because Virginia is for Lovers but not with this crap that is coming down,,,,,
I don’t even remember this case as a young person. I think that speaks volumes about either me or the world I grew up in.
Question for anyone: Many servicemen came back from WWII and Korea with asian war brides. Some Americans chose to marry Amerian Indians. How did they get around the Racial Integrity Act of 1924 that forbid white people to marry anyone not white?
After reading the Racial Integrity Act and the sterilization laws, I don’t think that Virginia was much better than some of the early practices found in Nazi Germany. It was a little better but not by much.
I saw this at Silverdocs 2011 in Silver Spring. It was definitely one of the best of the 29 films that I saw.
The film is based largely on behind-the-scenes footage of the couple. It flows very naturally, it’s a great and easily watchable documentary.
Thanks for the Rick Seal of approval! I can’t wait to see it.