Happy Loving Day!

Last weekend we were visiting with some relatives and we got to talking about Loving Day!  I had never heard of it before so I decided to do some research as I had never heard of it in Canada. Through all of my research I was not able to find out if an inter-racial marriage was ever illegal, but in the States it was!

And not that long ago either.  

" 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." 

They were threatened with jail or to be banished, so they left Virginia and moved to Washington.  This couple fought for years to get equal rights for themselves and their families.

Less than 50 years ago it would have been illegal for Shaun and I to get married.  That is less years than my parents have been alive.  I just can't get over that.  I hope that all the inter-racial families in the states are making it out to celebrate today!

For more information check out the Loving Day site HERE