The Right To Love Letter
Police came knocking at Richards’s door and then bust in they ask
Mildred who she was and she said she was his wife. The police denied
that because it is breaking the law of a white man marrying anyone
outside his race because of Virginias 1924 racial integrity act. A century
has pasted since the 14th amendment. He feels like he loves his wife
and it not fair he can’t live In Virginia with her which I agree with
because we are all human god mad us all so all the junk is bull crap.
Now they saying any race the doesn’t have African in them counts as
white. It was several attempts to end the law but they failed the court
thought that the case on the mixed race marriage wasn’t quite right. So
the switched to talking about the school desegression. Despite the
segression law in the south the lives of blacks and white pretty
intertwined.
In 1959 Richard and Mildred got married privately but a few weeks
later they got arrested. They had the choice to go to jail for a year or
leave Virginia during that time the civil rights movement was
happening. Mildred wrote a letter about civil rights and that letter
reached Bernard Cohen who was a young lawyer. Even he though he
knew the challenges he was willing to help them beat this case all
means necessary.
They went and and took this case to the judge and Richard told him to
tell them he loves his wife. On June 12 the court backed up the loving’s
and soon they were given freedom they wanted not only that but
freedom for all interracial couples. This taught me a lesson if you can
fight for something you really want it’s nice to see that. But these 2
The Right To Love Letter
people changed the world they made it where interracial marriage is
legal in grateful.