Loving v.Virginia was an important Supreme Court case, but it was also the story of a real couple. Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving grew up in Caroline County, Virginia. They fell in love and decided to get married. Unfortunately, getting married was not as simple in 1958 as it was today. Mildred was black and Richard was white. There were laws that forbade people of different races to marry each other. This was true in many states, including Mildred and Richard's home state of Virginia. However, interracial marriage was legal in Washington, DC at that time. Therefore, they decided to drive to DC, get married, and return to Virginia to begin their life together.
This proved to be a short term solution. The law in Virginia not only forbade interracial marriage ceremonies, but it also forbade interracial couples from getting married elsewhere and returning to Virginia. One night, while they were asleep, the newly-married Lovings were awakened by the police in their bedroom The Lovings were taken to jail for the crime of being married.
The Trial
When they went to trial, the judge found them guilty and sentenced them to a jail term of one to three years. However, the judge told the Lovings that he would suspend the sentence if they agreed to leave Virginia for a period of twenty five years. Given the choice between imprisonment and banishment, they chose banishment. The Lovings moved to Washington DC.
Life was both difficult and unpleasant for the Lovings in Washington. They were having difficulty supporting their children. In desperation, Mildred sent a letter to Robert F. Kennedy, Attorney General of the United States. Mildred's letter was forwarded from the Attorney General's office to the offices of the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) in New York.
The Victory
The Loving's case not only won them their freedom to love, but it also granted the same freedom to every interracial couple in every state in America.
Life was both difficult and unpleasant for the Lovings in Washington. They were having difficulty supporting their children. In desperation, Mildred sent a letter to Robert F. Kennedy, Attorney General of the United States. Mildred's letter was forwarded from the Attorney General's office to the offices of the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) in New York.
The Victory
The Loving's case not only won them their freedom to love, but it also granted the same freedom to every interracial couple in every state in America.
The Case for Loving is now a beautiful children's book.
Thank you to the Lovings. 
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