In Pursuit of Perfection

Mrs. Annie Bennett

Spread the word.

Interracial Marriage: 40th Anniversary of Loving v. Virginia

I think I'm going to make this a featured article on my blog for the next 7 days.  You can expect 3 installments leading up to Wednesday.  Drop me a line and let me know how Loving v Virginia impacts your life!

June 12, 2007 marks the 40th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Loving v. Virginia on June 12, 1967 which struck down the remaining interracial marriage bans in 16 states in the United States, ending race discrimination in marriage.

Part I -- Observations and Background
Race is an uncomfortable subject for some.  For others, it is their reality.  When Mildred Jeter (a black woman) and Richard Perry Loving (a white man) initiated a series of lawsuits seeking to overcome their conviction on Fourteenth Amendment grounds, ultimately reaching the Supreme Court, they were not playing a 'card'.  They were fighting for their individual right to love and marry the person of their choosing.

It strikes me just how recent this ruling was made.  If you are 40 or older and reading this story, you were born without the right to marry any person of your choosing.  Take a look at the Wiki page on the Loving v Virginia case. 

Gotta go to work, be back with more in the a.m.!!