A Virginia couple’s fight to end a ban on interracial marriage is becoming part of a series of US landmarks recognizing social justice efforts.
Next month, a new sign will go up in Caroline County, near where Richard and Mildred Loving were arrested, briefly jailed, and fought for their right in court to be married in 1959.
The three sites - the old county jail and sheriff's office, and historic courthouse, built in 1836 - are now part of the US Civil Rights Trail.
Chris Williams is the Assistant Director of the James Farmer Multicultural Center at the University of Mary Washington.
“Knowing that the courthouse, the original jail, that clerk’s office, is still right there, knowing that if Mildred and Richard Loving were alive today, they’d recognize that place instantly,” he said. "Most people know about the court case. I wanted to speak more about the relationship between Mrs. Mildred Loving and Mr. Richard Loving. That's what going to be on the sign."
The Lovings were natives of Caroline County, where they met and fell in love. Because they violated the 1924 Racial Integrity Act, they were sentenced to a one-year jail term. But a judge agreed to suspend those sentences if they left Virginia. They ultimately won their case before the US Supreme Court in 1967, and returned to Caroline County to raise a family.
Kathy Beard, Caroline County's Tourism Manager, believes the national acclaim of the Civil Rights Trail will help brings the Lovings' story to a wider audience.
"Their low-key activities throughout their whole existence in Caroline County certainly brings to the top how important this is," she said.
Williams said the new signage will explain how unassuming the Lovings were.
“They weren’t trying to set out to change the society that they were living in, they just wanted to be together," Williams said. "It just so happened that they did the latter – they loved each other, and just wanted to start a family, and be where they grew up. And the law was telling them they couldn’t do that.”
He said the key to this new tribute was getting members of the Loving family involved, who still live in the area, including Richard and Mildred’s daughter Peggy. LaNadia Loving, the Loving’s great-granddaughter, is one of Williams' former students at Mary Washington.
Past efforts to tell Richard and Mildred's story include the Oscar-nominated 2016 movie, Loving. Scenes from that film were shot in the Caroline County Courthouse.
Williams and Beard expect the new signage to be unveiled in late March.
Other Virginia stops on the US Civil Rights Trail include sites in Richmond and Fredericksburg.
