The End of Anti-Miscegenation Laws: Loving v. Virginia and Interracial Relationships |
The End of Anti-Miscegenation Laws: Loving v. Virginia and Interracial Relationships
Multiracial Media
2016-11-03
Joanna L. Thompson, Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Criminology, Law, and Justice
University of Illinois, Chicago
 Little Rock, Arkansas protest to keep anti-miscegenation laws on the books. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia.Commons |
This past weekend, the new movie Loving hit theaters. The film features the story of interracial couple Richard Loving, a White man, and Mildred Jeter, a Black woman, from Virginia who defied anti-miscegenation laws by getting married. The film highlights their historic Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) case in 1967, which overturned anti-miscegenation laws nationwide. (It had previously been legal in a handful of states.)
Seven months shy of the 50th anniversary of the SCOTUS decision, thinking of the film and the story of the Loving family, many may not understand the true importance of Loving v. Virginia and the extent to which the United States viewed interracial relationships at that time. Some may even take for granted how interracial relationships have become a societal norm and view the film as slightly shocking. Therefore, to better understand the historical context of the film, let us reveal the State of the Union at that time when it came to multiracial love…
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Tags: Joanna L. Thompson, Joanna Thompson, Loving v. Virginia, Mildred Jeeter Loving, Multiracial Media, Richard Loving