Loving v. Virginia (1967): The Case That Struck Down Laws Banning Interracial Marriage
Updated: 6 days ago
Loving v. Virginia (1967) is one of the most significant civil rights decisions in American legal history. In a unanimous ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that laws prohibiting interracial marriage were unconstitutional, affirming that marriage is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution and that the government cannot restrict it based on race.
The case invalidated laws in 16 states that banned interracial unions and became a defining moment in the broader struggle for racial equality, individual liberty, and the right to love freely.
The Background: A Marriage, an Arrest, and a Legal Battle
In 1958, Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, a Black woman of African American and Native American descent, traveled from Virginia to Washington, D.C., to legally marry. Upon returning to their home in Caroline County, Virginia—where interracial marriage was illegal under the state’s Racial Integrity Act of 1924—they were arrested in the middle of the night and charged with “cohabiting as man and wife, against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth.”
The Lovings pled guilty and were sentenced to one year in prison, with the sentence suspended on the condition that they leave Virginia and not return together for 25 years.
Exiled from their home and family, the Lovings moved to Washington, D.C., but longed to return to Virginia. In 1963, Mildred Loving wrote a letter to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, who referred her to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Attorneys Bernard Cohen and Philip Hirschkop took on their case, challenging the constitutionality of Virginia’s anti-miscegenation laws.
The Legal Question
The case raised a fundamental constitutional issue: Do laws banning interracial marriage violate the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment?
Virginia argued that its law did not violate the Constitution because it punished both races equally and claimed to be preserving racial “purity.” The Lovings’ attorneys contended that the law was rooted in white supremacy and racial subjugation, not neutrality, and that it infringed upon the fundamental freedom to marry.
The Supreme Court Ruling: A Unanimous Rejection of Racial Discrimination
On June 12, 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously struck down Virginia’s law—and by extension, all remaining bans on interracial marriage across the country.
Chief Justice Earl Warren, writing for the Court, stated:
“Marriage is one of the ‘basic civil rights of man,’ fundamental to our very existence and survival... To deny this fundamental freedom on so unsupportable a basis as the racial classifications embodied in these statutes, classifications so directly subversive of the principle of equality at the heart of the Fourteenth Amendment, is surely to deprive all the State’s citizens of liberty without due process of law.”
The Court held that the Equal Protection Clause prohibited race-based restrictions on marriage, and that the Due Process Clause protected marriage as a fundamental right not to be infringed upon arbitrarily by the state.
Impact: Legal and Cultural Transformation
Loving v. Virginia had an immediate legal effect, rendering all state laws banning interracial marriage unenforceable and unconstitutional. But its cultural impact resonated even more deeply.
At the time of the ruling, public opinion remained divided. In 1967, roughly 72% of Americans opposed interracial marriage. Today, that number has reversed, with overwhelming support for interracial unions and widespread recognition of the case’s role in advancing racial and civil rights.
The decision laid the groundwork for future cases involving the freedom to marry, including Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. In fact, the majority opinion in Obergefell explicitly cited Loving as precedent, reinforcing the notion that marriage is a personal liberty not to be denied based on arbitrary classifications.
The Legacy of Richard and Mildred Loving
Richard and Mildred Loving were reluctant activists—quiet, working-class people who simply wanted to live as husband and wife in their home state. But their bravery and resolve reshaped the American legal landscape.
Mildred, in particular, remained an advocate for equality long after the Court’s ruling. In 2007, on the 40th anniversary of the decision, she released a statement supporting marriage equality for all, including same-sex couples:
“I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry.”
A Love Story That Changed the Law
Loving v. Virginia is a reminder that the fight for civil rights often begins with deeply personal acts of resistance. The Lovings did not set out to make history, but to live their lives with dignity and freedom. In doing so, they challenged the legal and social structures of racism and left an enduring legacy that continues to shape civil liberties in America.
Their case reaffirmed that the Constitution protects the right to love without government interference, and that justice requires not just equality under law, but equality in the most intimate choices of our lives.
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