10 Things I Learned from “Loving”

by Akilah Monifa

Loving is based on the true story of Mildred and Richard Loving who challenged the Virginia Racial Integrity Act of 1924.  They were an interracial couple who got married in D.C. even though they lived in Virginia.  Here are 10 things I learned from Loving:

1.  They were arrested in 1958  after being awakened from their sleep, after receiving an anonymous tip .
2.  After a plea-bargain deal to avoid prison they were also ordered to leave the state of Virginia for 25 years.
3.   They moved to D.C. but came back to Virginia.
4. According to the New York Times obit Mildred self-identified as Native American rather than African-American.
5.  After Mildred wrote Attorney General Robert Kennedy, he assigned the ACLU to their case.
6.   The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) in the landmark decision in 1967, Loving v. Virginia overturned the convictions.
7.  Richard Loving died after being hit by a drunk driver in 1975 and Mildred lost vision in one of her eyes in the same car accident.
8. Mildred never remarried and died in 2008.
9. Peggy Loving, the couple’s daughter was a consultant on the film.
10.   The film was based on a 2011 documentary The Loving Story.

Peace, love, gratitude, compassion and blessings.