The Case That Changed Marriage in America
Interracial marriage wasn’t legal everywhere in America until 1967.
Loving v. Virginia, decided in 1967, is one of the cases that shaped America.
What happened?
Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, a Black woman, left their home state of Virginia and legally married in Washington, D.C., in 1958.
Then they returned home to Virginia.
The problem? Virginia law prohibited interracial marriage.
The Lovings were arrested, convicted, and sentenced to a year in jail. The judge suspended that sentence on the condition that they leave Virginia and not return together for 25 years.
They eventually challenged the law, and their case made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
What did the Court decide?
On June 12, 1967, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of the Lovings.
The Court found Virginia’s interracial marriage laws violated both the Equal Protection Clause and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The decision also recognized marriage as one of the fundamental rights protected by the Constitution.
Why did it matter?
Loving made state laws banning interracial marriage unconstitutional.
But the decision went beyond Richard and Mildred’s marriage.
It established a major constitutional principle: a state cannot use race to decide who someone is allowed to marry.
The decision’s influence continued long after 1967. The Supreme Court has cited Loving in later cases involving the constitutional right to marry.
How does it affect your life today?
Today, a state cannot prohibit a marriage because the two people are different races.
And one interesting coincidence…
Just two years after Loving, Virginia introduced one of the most famous tourism slogans in America: Virginia is for Lovers.
Despite the timing and the Lovings’ incredibly fitting last name the slogan wasn’t created because of the Supreme Court case.
The advertising campaign originally played with more specific ideas around Virginia’s attractions including Virginia is for Beach Lovers, Virginia is for History Lovers, and Virginia is for Mountain Lovers.
Then the advertising agency Martin & Woltz simplified the idea: Virginia is for Lovers.
The connection to Richard and Mildred Loving may just be a coincidence. But it’s a pretty remarkable one.
Sources
U.S. Supreme Court — Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967)
The Court’s opinion and the primary source for the ruling, constitutional reasoning, sentence imposed on the Lovings, and history of the case.
National Archives — Richard and Mildred Loving Marriage License
The National Archives holds the Lovings’ June 2, 1958, District of Columbia marriage license and related federal court records.
Congressional Research Service — Constitution Annotated
Background on Loving and the constitutional protection of marriage under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Virginia Tourism Corporation — History of “Virginia is for Lovers”
Virginia’s official tourism organization dates the slogan to 1969 and explains how Martin & Woltz developed it from ideas centered on Virginia’s beaches, mountains, history, and other attractions.