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Virginia Hasn't Always Been for Lovers: Interracial Marriage Bans and the Case of Richard and Mildred Loving
Virginia Hasn't Always Been for Lovers Interracial Marriage Bans and the Case of Richard and Mildred Loving Author:Phyl Newbeck This landmark volume chronicles the history of laws banning interracial marriage in the United States with particular emphasis on the case of Richard and Mildred Loving, a white man and a black woman who were convicted by the state of Virginia for the crime of marrying across racial lines in the late 1950s. The Lovings were not activists, but th... more »eir battle to live together as husband and wife in their home state instigated the 1967 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that antimiscegenation laws were unconstitutional, which ultimately resulted in the overturning of laws against interracial marriage that were still in effect in sixteen states by the late 1960s. In Virginia Hasnt Always Been for Lovers: Interracial Marriage Bans and the Case of Richard and Mildred Loving, lawyer Phyl Newbeck describes how the laws banning intermarriage came about, how they were perpetuated, and how they were finally struck down. In addition to detailing the story of the courtship, marriage, and arrest of the Lovings, she covers the growth of antimiscegenation legislation, the subsequent fight to eliminate racially discriminatory practices, and the litigations that continued years after the Supreme Court had ruled on the issue. Drawing on legal research and historical, sociological, and political sources, Newbeck includes quotations from some of the statutes and explanations of why the laws were deemed necessary. Her findings reveal how the specter of interracial marriage was used to perpetuate segregation, what "percentage of blood" was required to place someone in a forbidden group, and what penalties were imposed on the bride, groom, licensor, and clergy. Based on dozens of interviews with attorneys who argued for and against antimiscegenation statutes and with plaintiffs who successfully challenged the laws, Virginia Hasnt Always Been for Lovers also contains rare interviews with members of the Loving family, who have notoriously remained out of the public eye since their landmark case but whose quiet resilience to the legal indignities brought upon them by antimiscegenation laws spurred an end to a shameful chapter in American history. Rich in detail, the resulting narrative is an invaluable resource and essential contribution to the history of race relations in America with particular relevance to contemporary issues regarding the rights of consenting adults to marry.« less