{"id":30448,"date":"2016-11-03T10:44:25","date_gmt":"2016-11-03T14:44:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=30448"},"modified":"2016-11-03T13:53:52","modified_gmt":"2016-11-03T17:53:52","slug":"mark-loving-film-loving-supreme-court-case-changed-nation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2016\/mark-loving-film-loving-supreme-court-case-changed-nation\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Loving on the film ‘Loving’ and a Supreme Court case that changed the nation"},"content":{"rendered":"

In his native Caroline County,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Virginia,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Mark Loving II’s<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>family name is well known.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Beyond generations of rootedness, t<\/span><\/span>here is both<\/span><\/span>\u00a0a\u00a0<\/span><\/span>plaque at the courthouse and a historical marker\u00a0<\/span><\/span>about<\/span><\/span>\u00a0his family history. O<\/span><\/span>ne reason why\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Mark\u00a0<\/span><\/span>came to Eastern Mennonite University: some anonymity in a rural landscape not dissimilar to home.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But being one of a crowd is shortly coming to an end <\/span><\/span>for this sophomore kinesiology major who plays basketball and has plans to become a physical therapist<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0On Friday, Nov. 4, a movie will be released, the title of which is one word: his surname.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"View<\/a>
Mark Loving II and his family will attend the Charlottesville Film Festival Nov. 3 , where the film ‘Loving’ about his grand-parents premieres. He wears red to honor his grandmother Mildred; it was her favorite color.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think too many people know,\u201d he said, \u201cbut that\u2019s starting to change. The word has got out there.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Challenging one of the nation\u2019s oldest laws<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

Virginia\u2019s law against<\/span><\/span>\u00a0interracial marriage<\/span><\/span>\u00a0was first established in 1624. <\/span><\/span>More than 200 years later, in 1958, Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, a <\/span><\/span>woman of the Native American<\/span><\/span>\u00a0race<\/span><\/span>\u00a0(Rappahannock Indian) decided to travel to Washington D.C. to marry.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Virginia was still one of 24 states that barred marriage between the races.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Returning to Caroline County, the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Lovings<\/span><\/span>\u00a0lived together for <\/span><\/span>five weeks<\/span><\/span>\u00a0before they were\u00a0<\/span><\/span>arrested for violating Virginia\u2019s Racial Integrity Act<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Both Mildred and Richard spent time in prison before they agreed to leave Virginia and not return, together or separately, for 25 years.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

After five unhappy years in Washington D.C., Mildred Loving wrote to the American Civil Liberties Union <\/span><\/span>(ACLU)<\/span><\/span>, which eventually helped them to successfully challenge the law\u00a0<\/span><\/span>in the U.S. Supreme Court. The 1967 court case eventually led to the demise of miscegenation laws around the country.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Movie set to gain Oscar\u00a0<\/span><\/span>nods<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

Mark<\/span><\/span>, the oldest great-grandchild of Mildred and Richard Loving, loves<\/span><\/span>\u00a0(and yes, that\u2019s the right verb) <\/span><\/span>just about every part of the new movie<\/span><\/span>\u00a0about his great-grandparents<\/span><\/span>\u00a0that premieres at the Charlottesville Film Festival<\/a> tonight and open<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span> nationwide on Friday [Nov. 4].<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t pick a favorite part,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s my family story. I love it all. The whole situation that occurred disturbs me, but seeing these two loved ones never give up and fight … I would not be here, my grandma, father, siblings, uncles, aunt.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n