Loving v. Virginia

Loving v. Virginia

I found the case of Loving v. Virginia captivating. Not only does it tell us a lot about the laws in the US at the time. But it’s also a romantic real life love story about a couple fighting for their rights. This case also relates to a previous case I have written about, Brown v. Board of Education. They are both cases which are fighting for civil rights and had a great impact upon the movement.

The case of Loving v. Virginia is seen as a very significant moment.

Loving v. Virginia is a very well-known court case as it cancelled out the laws that banned interracial marriage. It involved a couple called Mildred Loving and Richard Loving who got married. However, they were an interracial couple which was illegal. They were sentenced to a year in prison if they did not leave Virginia. They did leave the state, however after some time they travelled back to Virginia together and were caught.

The courts argument as to why inter-racial marriage should be illegal was very behind the times and traditional. It was thought God put different races on different continents to keep them separated, so it was against God for them to marry. This shows the affect religion was still having on the way people lived. The generations these days generally would accept this as a very bizarre and radical view.

The Supreme Court decided that it was unconstitutional to stop interracial couples for marrying. It was then enforced that all states should allow interracial marriage. It can be seen how significant this was to people as there have been films and songs produced about it. These include ‘Mr and Mrs Loving’ and a documentary called ‘the Loving Story’. The film Mr and Mrs Loving received criticism from Mrs Loving herself as she said it did not accurately reflect what happened at all. I personally find this to be a shame as this is such an important part of history, yet people are being misled purely to make it more of a drama. They were focused on getting a wider audience, than focusing on the history. There is also one day a year where this Supreme Court decision is remembered and celebrated.

After this Supreme Court decision, interracial marriage increased hugely. This shows that there were always many interracial couples, just many would have kept in quiet.

This case did not simply affect Virginia. It led to 16 other states having to get rid of their ban on interracial marriage. I find it shocking how some states up until very recently still had laws against inter-racial marriage. It seems absurd now days for there to be bans on interracial marriage. For example, Alabama did not re-peal their laws against inter-racial marriage until 2000. This means these laws carried over into the 21^st century. Alabama was the last state to make inter-racial marriage legal.

Annabelle Billington