Loving V. Virginia Supreme Court Case
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Supreme Court Cases
Makessia T. Ealey
April 28, 2013
Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court Case
Nearly 46 years ago, a case was decided by a unanimous Supreme Court that invalidated all laws that prohibited interracial marriages throughout the nation. All in all, the legalization of interracial marriage remains a influential moment in the civil rights movement. In June 1967, the Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court case ruling would not only change the lives of Richard and Mildred Loving, but would forever impact the nation as a whole.
Richard and Mildred Loving were married in Washington D.C. in 1958. Because their home state of Virginia still upheld laws such as the anti-miscegenation law, which stated that interracial marriages were illegal, the couple was forced to marry elsewhere. At the time, Virginia was one of 16 states that had statutes that prohibited and convicted individuals in interracial marriages.
Once they were married in D.C., the couple returned home and lived together in Caroline County, Virginia. A year later the State of Virginia prosecuted and convicted the couple of violating the State’s anti-miscegenation law. Although the couple was sentenced to one year in jail, the State notified them that if they left Virginia and did not come back for the next 25 years their sentence would be suspended. Instead of opting to be arrested, jailed and banished from Virginia for violating the State’s Racial Integrity Act, the Loving couple chose to leave Virginia and move to D.C. In 1963, the Lovings initiated a suit against and challenging the constitutionality of the anti-miscegenation law because they felt that the State law was wrong and violated the United States Constitution.
On June 12, 1967 the Loving v. Virginia was heard and decided on in the U.S. Supreme Court, which resulted due to the appeal from the Lovings’ original arrest in Virginia. The Lovings were represented by ACLU in the landmark Supreme Court case. The Lovings claimed that their...
Makessia T. Ealey
April 28, 2013
Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court Case
Nearly 46 years ago, a case was decided by a unanimous Supreme Court that invalidated all laws that prohibited interracial marriages throughout the nation. All in all, the legalization of interracial marriage remains a influential moment in the civil rights movement. In June 1967, the Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court case ruling would not only change the lives of Richard and Mildred Loving, but would forever impact the nation as a whole.
Richard and Mildred Loving were married in Washington D.C. in 1958. Because their home state of Virginia still upheld laws such as the anti-miscegenation law, which stated that interracial marriages were illegal, the couple was forced to marry elsewhere. At the time, Virginia was one of 16 states that had statutes that prohibited and convicted individuals in interracial marriages.
Once they were married in D.C., the couple returned home and lived together in Caroline County, Virginia. A year later the State of Virginia prosecuted and convicted the couple of violating the State’s anti-miscegenation law. Although the couple was sentenced to one year in jail, the State notified them that if they left Virginia and did not come back for the next 25 years their sentence would be suspended. Instead of opting to be arrested, jailed and banished from Virginia for violating the State’s Racial Integrity Act, the Loving couple chose to leave Virginia and move to D.C. In 1963, the Lovings initiated a suit against and challenging the constitutionality of the anti-miscegenation law because they felt that the State law was wrong and violated the United States Constitution.
On June 12, 1967 the Loving v. Virginia was heard and decided on in the U.S. Supreme Court, which resulted due to the appeal from the Lovings’ original arrest in Virginia. The Lovings were represented by ACLU in the landmark Supreme Court case. The Lovings claimed that their...