The Lovings: A Story of Interracial Marriage in 1958

With a last name like Loving, this has to be a love story. Interracial marriage was not always accepted in the United States, and many brave couples fought for marriage equality. One such couple was Richard and Mildred Loving. Mildred and Richard grew up together and had known each other since she was eleven and he was seventeen. The couple decided to marry in June of 1958. They traveled to Washington D.C. where they could legally do so but decided to return to Virginia and resume life as a married couple. Neither wanted attention focused on them, yet their marriage put them directly in the spotlight.

One night, the Lovings were awakened by members of the Virginia Police Department. They were arrested for their violation of the Racial Integrity Act of 1924. Though interracial marriage was legal in Washington D.C., 20 states still considered it a crime, including Virginia.

The Lovings were able to flee Virginia, leaving their families and everyone they knew behind. They settled down in D.C., devastated at what they left behind. The Lovings were able to live the simple life they desired for the next five years, raising their three children in an area where their marriage was supported, though they never stopped fighting for racial equality and equal marriage rights. 

Mildred was adamant about fighting for the right to marry for love. In 1963, she sent a letter to Robert F. Kennedy, who referred her case to the American Civil Liberties Union. The Lovings’ case eventually went to the Supreme Court where the Lovings won their court battle with a unanimous ruling from the judges. The Lovings moved back to their home in Virginia where they built a house and raised their children. Though this ruling made a huge difference in the life of the Lovings, as they were able to freely travel without fear of their marriage being invalid, the importance of their actions did not stop there.

The ruling of the Supreme Court on the Lovings’ case helped fight interracial marriage cases in more than 12 states and ultimately aided in the end of segregation laws in the United States. What began as a request for the Lovings to live a simple life together in peace turned into a momentous movement to allow and normalize interracial marriages.

Though Richard Loving died in a car crash in 1975, Mildred went on to fight for LGBTQ rights. Before her death in 2008, Mildred said, “The older generation’s fears and prejudices have given way, and today’s young people realize that if someone loves someone, they have a right to marry.”

Kaitlynn Toay is a senior

English major from

Edgeley, N.D.