June 12th is the 50th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court decision that overturned 16 states laws that prohibited interracial marriage. The plaintiffs were Richard and Mildred Loving, and they couldn’t legally marry in their home state of Virginia, so they went to Washington DC, where it was legal, returned home to Fairfax County, and were soon arrested.
While the Virginia courts upheld the law banning interracial marriage, but the Supreme Court decision striking it down was unanimous. Chief Justice Earl Warren’s said Virginia’s ban was “designed to maintain white supremacy.”
Today, Virginia has the gall to slap "Virginia is for Lovers" signs and bumper stickers over everything. But because the V is generally represented as a heart, I simply remind myself of the real truth. And now you can too.
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