This landmark volume chronicles the history of laws banning interracial marriage in the United States with particular emphasis on the case of Richard and Mildred Loving, a white man and a black woman who were convicted by the state of Virginia of the crime of marrying across racial lines in the late 1950s. The Lovings were not activists, but their battle to live together as husband and wife in their home state instigated the 1967 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that antimiscegenation laws were unconstitutional, which ultimately resulted in the overturning of laws against interracial marriage that were still in effect in sixteen states by the late 1960s.
Customer Reviews:
RecommendedOctober 5, 2004 7 out of 8 found this review helpful
A thoroughly researched and interesting account of one of the under-examined mileposts in the still on-going civil rights struggle. Ms. Newbeck evokes the Loving case, as well as its antecedents and successors, in their historical, political and very personal contexts. As noted in the book description, this is also a particularly timely book in light of the current controversies regarding gay marriage.
