The fight began on June 2, 1958, when they couldn’t legally marry in Virginia. They drove to Washington, D.C. where pastor, Reverend John L. Henry conducted the ceremony. Interracial couples could marry in Washington, D.C. without penalty.
Application for Marriage, May 24, 1958, Smithsonian Magazine
The Lovings, 1965, LA Times
On July 11, 1958, at 2:00 a.m, the Lovings were woken by the county sheriff and arrested for breaking the 1924 laws stating that a couple can't get married outside Virginia and return.
“Penalties for miscegenation arose as an incident to slavery, and have been common in Virginia since the colonial period.”
~Chief Justice Earl Warren, 1967
"It was about 2 a.m., and I saw the light, you know, and I woke up. There was the policeman standing beside the bed. And he told us to get up, that we were under arrest .... They asked Richard who was that woman he was sleeping with, and I said, 'I'm his wife,' and the sheriff said, 'Not here you're not.' "
~Mildred Loving, July 11, 1958
Report on Loving Case, 1967, ABC News
The Lovings filed a motion asking Judge Leon M. Bazile to denounce their one-year prison sentences. The judge released them on the condition they leave Virginia and not return together for 25 years. Mildred and Richard moved to Washington, D.C..
Caroline County Courtouse, 1958, Courthouse History
"Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State. These convictions must be reversed."
~Chief Justice Earl Warren, 1967
Header photo: The Lovings, 1965, Grey Villet/Monroe Gallery of Photography