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Today's the day, well, it's Loving Day, a national celebration of the Supreme Court ruling the people can marry whoever they want, regardless of the color of their skin.
Richard Loving, a white man, and his wife Mildred, a black woman, were married in 1958. They traveled from their home in Caroline County, Virginia to Washington D.C. where interracial marriage was legal.
When they returned home, however, they were arrested and banished for 25 years from Virginia for violating the state's Racial Integrity Act, according to NPR.
Crazy, no?
After the birth of their three children, the couple asked the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to take their case. They simply wanted to move back to Virginia and their family.
Upon being asked to reconsider his decision, the original judge, Leon Bazile, wrote "Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, Malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. ... The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix,” NPR reported.
The case then moved steadily to the Supreme Court where the ‘Loving Decision’ struck down any anti-miscegenation laws throughout the States, including Virginia.
Today serves as a key reminder of the struggle for civil rights our nation has seen.
But times change slowly, and this year is no different as the Supreme Court may rule this year that same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional.
Bazile's probably rolling in his grave.
