Top of page

Watch: “Loving Vs. Virginia” Virtual Program, Wednesday, May 3, 10:30 AM EDT

Share this post:

The Library of Congress invites you and your students to join a virtual program on a famous legal case that cleared the way for interracial marriage in the United States.

At this year’s Jonah S. Eskin Memorial Program, Patricia Hruby Powell will speak about her new young people’s book, “Loving vs. Virginia.” Hruby Powell’s book features illustrations by Shadra Strickland.

As late as 1967, marrying someone not of the same race was considered a crime in some states. Interracial unions, such as that of Richard and Mildred Loving of Virginia, were forbidden there, and they were each sentenced to a year in prison in 1959. The sentence was suspended on condition that the Lovings leave Virginia.

They moved to the District of Columbia, where they had married, but wanted to return to Virginia. The American Civil Liberties Union took their case, which ended with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that so-called “anti-miscegenation” laws were illegal.

Powell and Strickland will share original illustrations from the book and primary sources used in research. They will be joined in conversation by Georgetown law professor (emerita) Elizabeth Hayes Patterson, associate director of the Association of American Law Schools, and by moderator Deborah Taylor, an award-winning librarian and director of School and Student Services at Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore.

The event is supported by the Jonah S. Eskin Memorial Fund of the Library of Congress. The fund was established to honor the late son of Marcia and Barnet Eskin.

The program will take place on Wednesday, May 3, at 10:30 AM EDT, and will be streamed live at this URL: https://youtu.be/XGLZUDrtNho

We hope you enjoy the program!

Comments (3)

  1. I would love to see/hear this program but will be in the car all day driving from Maryland to Chicago. Will a copy be available for online viewing later?

    • Absolutely! After the live program, you should be able to watch the recording at the URL above.

  2. Had other cases on this point of law been proposed before Loving v Virginia? Had the ACLU refused other cases as less likely to win?

Add a Comment

This blog is governed by the general rules of respectful civil discourse. You are fully responsible for everything that you post. The content of all comments is released into the public domain unless clearly stated otherwise. The Library of Congress does not control the content posted. Nevertheless, the Library of Congress may monitor any user-generated content as it chooses and reserves the right to remove content for any reason whatever, without consent. Gratuitous links to sites are viewed as spam and may result in removed comments. We further reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to remove a user's privilege to post content on the Library site. Read our Comment and Posting Policy.


Required fields are indicated with an * asterisk.