Interracial Dating In The South

On July 11, 1958, newlyweds Richard and Mildred Loving were asleep in bed when three armed police officers burst into the room. The couple were hauled from their house and thrown into jail, where Mildred remained for several days, all for the crime of getting married. At that time, 24 states across the country had laws strictly prohibiting marriage between people of different races. Five weeks earlier, the longtime couple had learned Mildred was pregnant and decided to wed in defiance of the law. In order to evade Virginia’s Racial Integrity Act, the pair had traveled to Washington, D.C. for the ceremony. Upon their return to Virginia, they were arrested and found guilty, with the judge informing Mildred that “as long as you live you will be known as a felon.” The Lovings moved to the relative safety of Washington, but longed to return to their home state.

Dating

Interracial Dating In South Africa

Interracial Relationships that Changed History. Join PBS Black Culture Connection. Bowing to pressure from apartheid South Africa, the British government attempted to stop the marriage. “South Carolina removed it in 1999 and Alabama removed it in 2000. Yep, that’s the 21st century.” Loving, the movie based on a true story about a couple imprisoned for being in an interracial relationship, will be in theaters on Friday, Nov.

Interracial Dating In South Africa 2019

In 1963, they approached the American Civil Liberties Union to fight their case in court. After an extensive legal battle, the Supreme Court ruled that laws prohibiting interracial marriage were unconstitutional in June of 1967. Although such laws officially remained on the books in several states, the Lovings’ landmark victory rendered them effectively unenforceable, ensuring nobody else would have to endure the same treatment. The last law officially prohibiting interracial marriage was repealed in Alabama in 2000.

Photo © Bettmann/CORBIS