The Loving Story
Film Review
by Kam Williams
Civil Rights Documentary Recounts Landmark
Supreme Court Decision on Interracial Marriage
Soon
after Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving tied the knot in Washington,
DC on June 2, 1958, they decided to move back
to their tiny hometown of Central
Point, Virginia to
settle down and start a family. The groom, a bricklayer by trade, even
purchased a plot of land where he promised to build his bride a house.
However,
Virginia was
one of 24 states where interracial marriage was still illegal because of racist
laws designed to rob minorities of their dignity and to keep them in a lower
social and economic status. Since Richard was white and Mildred was a mix of
black and Native-American, it was just a matter of time before the local sheriff
would catch wind of their illicit liaison and crack down on the felons like a
ton of bricks.
And
in the middle of the night, he and a posse broke down the door, dragging the
newlyweds off to jail while threatening to rape Mildred. Given that this was
Virginia during the disgraceful days of Jim Crow, the Lovings were, of course, ultimately
found guilty and each given a one-year sentence for the crime of marrying
across the color line.
As
their appeal dragged on, Mildred wrote to then Attorney General Bobby Kennedy
for help avoiding incarceration. He declined, but suggested she approach the
American Civil Liberties Union, which did decide to take the case.
“Just
tell the Supreme Court I love my wife,” Richard directed the ACLU attorneys as
they prepared to argue before Chief Justice Warren and his associates. In the historic
Loving v. Virginia
decision handed down on June 12, 1967, the Lovings’ convictions were overturned
and their union finally garnered the blessing and government protection that
had so eluded them for almost a decade.
All
of the above is recounted in heartbreaking fashion in The Loving Story, a combination
biopic and courtroom drama directed by Nancy Buirski. What makes the film so
touching are the reams of archival footage of the unfortunate couple at the
center of the controversy.
For
the lovebirds are so young and so innocent, it’s hard to fathom why anyone would
even seek to separate let alone imprison them. A moving, must-see documentary
about the Lovings’ belated vindication and the elimination of one of the last vestiges of segregation.
Could it be more fitting
that the litigants in the landmark case eradicating the crime of loving a
person of a different color would be named Loving!
Excellent
(4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 77 minutes
Distributor: Icarus
Films
To see a trailer for The
Loving Story, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h62ZBiHNJoM
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