The Loving Story

          A white man and an African American woman hold hands and walk slowly through the doorway, crossing its threshold to look at a series of photos. Forty five years ago, this scene would have been illegal in many states. The couple is at the International Center of Photography in midtown Manhattan. Along with many others, they have walked into an exhibition called The Loving Story: Photographs by Grey Villet.

(bossip.com)

The 1967 case, Loving v. Virginia, marked a milestone with regard to civil rights. The Supreme Court decision was unanimous in its ruling against Virginia’s anti-miscegenation laws.

            When the Lovings married in 1958, Virginia was one of 24 states in which inter-racial marriage was illegal in the United States. Having wed legally in Washington DC, the Lovings were found to be breaking the law upon returning to their home in King and Queen County, Virginia. On July 11, 1958, just five weeks after their marriage, police burst into the Loving’s home, arresting them for violating a Virginia law known as the Racial Integrity Act. The judge on their case, Leon M. Bazile, commented that God would not have put difference races on different continents if he intended for them to mix.

(nextmagazine.com)

            In 1963, Mrs. Mildred Loving wrote to Attorney General Robert. F. Kennedy about their situation. Kennedy replied, referring her to the American Civil Liberties Union. In 1967 the Supreme Court struck down Virginia’s anti-miscegenation law banning inter-racial marriage in the case known as Loving v. Virginia. As these events were unfolding, photojournalist Grey Villet was assigned by LIFE magazine to take photos of the family for an article on the case.         

            Published in a recent New York Times article, his wife, Barbara Villet, said that the photojournalist sought to capture the Lovings “as real as he could get it.” His photos did not echo the legal turmoil that was taking place, but rather the love that was so obvious in their everyday actions.

            According to Mrs. Mildred Loving’s obituary in the New York Times in 2008, Mr. Loving died in a car accident only eight years after the 1967 Supreme Court ruling. Mrs. Loving died in 2008, just a year after the 40^th anniversary of the ruling. In her last issued statement during this year, Loving said that she hoped same sex couples will have the right to marry.

(blogs.suntimes.com)

            According to David Appel, Communications Associate at the International Center of Photography, the case continues to have relevance today as marriage equality gains support and the first mixed-race U.S. president finishes his first term. “We also wanted to highlight a wonderful photo essay by Grey Villet, a great yet relatively unknown photojournalist,” said Appel in an email. The photographs, he said, are not part of ICP’s collection, but are borrowed vintage prints from Richard and Mildred’s daughter Peggy Loving and the estate of Grey Villet.

            Appel also said that the exhibit has specific relevance to life in New York City today. “There are many married mixed-race couples in New York City and it’s important to learn about the real people who made this possible.”

            The exhibition has generated particular interest among younger viewers who are surprised to learn that inter-racial marriage was once illegal, Appel said. “Most are touched by Villet’s powerful and intimate images of this ordinary yet extraordinary family.”

            Funded by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, The Loving Story will be on view at ICP through May 6, 2012.