Decided on June 12, 1967, Loving v. Virginia, a landmark civil rights decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, invalidated laws prohibiting interracial marriage. The case centered on Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, a Black woman, who married in Washington, D.C., and then returned to Virginia, where interracial marriage was illegal. Arrested and sentenced to a year in prison, the Lovings were given a suspended sentence on the condition they leave Virginia.
The Lovings challenged their conviction, ultimately reaching the Supreme Court. The Court, in a unanimous decision, ruled that Virginia's anti-miscegenation laws violated the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote the opinion, asserting that marriage is a fundamental right, and the state's law had no legitimate purpose "independent of invidious racial discrimination."
Loving v. Virginia was a significant victory for the Civil Rights Movement, ensuring that marriage could not be restricted by racial boundaries and affirming the principle of equality under the law.
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Loving V. Virginia