Leonardo Reviews

Leonardo reviews Leonardo reviews against the Commonwealth of Virginia the trial judge, wrote: “Almighty God Editor-in-Chief: Michael Punt by Richard and Mildred Loving]). The created the races white, black, yellow, Managing Editor: Bryony Dalefield Lovings, the key figures in this case, are Malay and red, and he placed them captured in The Loving Story, a film pro- on separate continents. And but for Associate Editors: Dene Grigar, duced by Nancy Buirski and Elisabeth the interference with his arrangement Martha Blassnigg, Hannah Drayson Haviland James and available through there would be no cause for such mar- A full selection of reviews is pub- Icarus Films. riages. The fact that he separated the lished monthly on the LR web site: Married in Washington, D.C., on 2 races shows that he did not intend for <leonardoreviews.mit.edu>. June 1958, Richard Loving and Mildred the races to mix.” Jeter returned home to Virginia where The Lovings did not like living in the their marriage was declared illegal District of Columbia; they missed their because he was white and she was black families and wanted to go home. How Film and Native American. At that time, anti- they lived and felt about the situation is miscegenation laws—laws against inter- effectively captured in the photographs racial marriage—existed in 16 states. and interviews that compose much of he oving Tory T L s Such laws are a typical consequence the film. There are also rare documen- directed by Nancy Buirski. Icarus Films, of states’ rights in the United States, a tary photographs by Life Magazine pho- Brooklyn, NY, U.S.A., 2011. DVD, 77 mechanism that allows the laws of dif- tographer Grey Villet that recount the min. Distributor’s website: <http:// ferent geographical areas to reflect the little-known story of the Loving family— icarusfilms.com>. mores (and biases) of specific parts of first-person testimony by their daughter the country. Peggy Loving and footage of the two Reviewed by Amy Ione, The Diatrope Insti- The Loving Story conveys how such lawyers who took the case. Indeed, one tute, Berkeley, CA, USA. Website: <ione@ laws can impact lives with a poignancy of the remarkable features is seeing diatrope.com>. that a strict narrative could not. We clips of the two young American Civil meet a young interracial couple that Liberties Union lawyers, Bernard S. Co- Ironically, as I was wondering where to wanted to live together in Virginia. hen and Philip J. Hirschkop, discuss- begin this review today, I noticed a car They were not activists or rebels. The ing the case as young men, as well as in with two bumper stickers matching the film captures their lives using a trove contemporary interviews in which they sentiments I was tossing around in my of recently uncovered 16-mm film, old look back on this work. mind. One read: “Hate is easy. Love news clips and still photographs that The Civil Rights section especially takes courage.” The other said: “Got present the Lovings, their lawyers and stood out. It is introduced with foot- Constitution?” Both relate to the details the time in a form that needs little age of a large demonstration and fol- of the Loving case, in which the United supplemental narrative. To summa- lowed by a clip of Mildred Loving softly States Supreme Court legalized inter- rize, the case was brought by Mildred racial marriage (or held laws against Loving, a black woman, and Richard Reviews Panel: Allan Graubard, Amy Ione, interracial marriage to be unconsti- Loving, a white man. After they mar- tutional [prompted by a suit brought Anastasia Filippoupoliti, Annick Bureaud, ried in Washington, D.C., close to their Anna B. Creagh, Anthony Enns, Aparna home state of Virginia, they returned Sharma, Boris Jardine, Brian Reffin Smith, home. Based on an anonymous tip, the Catalin Brylla, Chris Cobb, Claudia Wester- mann, Claudy Opdenkamp, Craig Harris, Craig local authorities arrested them (while J. Hilton, Dene Grigar, Eduardo Miranda, in bed), and they were eventually sen- Elizabeth McCardell, Elizabeth Straughan, tenced to prison in Virginia for marry- Ellen Pearlman, Enzo Ferrara, Eugene Thacker, ing each other, because their marriage Florence Martellini, Flutor Troshani, Franc violated the state’s anti-miscegenation Chamberlain, Fred Andersson, Frieder Nake, George Gessert, George K. Shortess, Giovanna statute, the Racial Integrity Act of 1924, Costantini, Hannah Drayson, Hannah Rogers, which prohibited marriage between Harriet Hawkins, Ian Verstegen, Jac Saorsa, Jack people classified as “white” and people Ox, Jacques Mandelbrojt, Jan Baetens, Jennifer classified as “colored.” On 6 January Ferng, John F. Barber, John Vines, Jon Bedworth, Jonathan Zilberg, Jung A. Huh, Jussi Parikka, 1959, the Lovings pled guilty. They were K. Blassnigg, Kathleen Quillian, Kieran Lyons, sentenced to 1 year in prison, with the Lara Schrijver, Lisa M. Graham, Martha sentence suspended for 25 years on the Blassnigg, Martha Patricia Nino, Martyn condition that the Lovings permanently Woodward, Maureen A. Nappi, Michael Mosher, leave the state of Virginia. Michael Punt, Mike Leggett, Ornella Corazza, Paul Hertz, Richard Kade, Rob Harle, Robert One of the driving elements of the A. Mitchell, Roger Malina, Roy Behrens, Sean film’s script is the racial bias in the legal Cubitt, Simone Osthoff, Sonya Rapoport, Stefaan case brought against the couple. Even van Ryssen, Stephen Petersen, Valérie Lamon- the judge’s ruling against their mar- tagne, Wilfred Arnold, Yvonne Spielmann, Zainub Verjee riage shows this bias. Leon M. Bazile, © 2013 ISAST doi:10.1162/LEON_a_00654 LEONARDO, Vol. 46, No. 5, pp. 499–512, 2013 499 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/LEON_r_00659 by guest on 02 October 2021 explaining to someone in her living racial classifications must stand on their Rather, their sincerity and love drives room that she was not involved in the own justification, as measures designed their story. Civil Rights movement. Rather, she to maintain White Supremacy. The courage of the Lovings is relates, she decided to write to Robert Watching the legal challenges pre- matched by that of the same-sex cou- Kennedy simply because she and Rich- sented in the video and listening to the ples today who are seeking legitimacy ard wanted to go home to Virginia. sentiments of the people involved with for their relationships. In a concurring Initiating the kind of individual litiga- the case brought to mind recent chal- opinion to Loving, Associate Justice tion they needed to pursue was not a lenges to laws forbidding same-sex mar- Potter Stewart wrote: “It is simply not part of the Attorney General’s purview. riage in the United States, an issue set possible for a state law to be valid under Kennedy, however, directed her to the to go to the Supreme Court later this our Constitution which makes the crim- American Civil Liberties Union. year. Advocates of same-sex marriage inality of an act depend upon the race Growing up in the United States, I often offer the history of civil rights law of the actor.” Today, of course, “sex was educated to believe that our politi- as a touchstone and a rationale as they of the actor” would be the operative cal system, despite its faults, was the fight for equal rights in the courts. As phrase. Given the humanness of these best in the world. We learned that with the Lovings, those fighting today issues, it is not surprising that this film although change was sometimes slow, often capture the personal and human has won many awards. It is perfect for rightness or justice of some kind pre- qualities that drive the fight for mar- classrooms and for all interested in who vailed. I can remember learning about riage equality. people are and how they make things the landmark Brown v. Board of Educa- To my surprise, the connection happen. tion case even in grade school. This between race restrictions and gender- was the case in which the United States based restrictions is covered in an Supreme Court declared state laws exceptionally well-crafted teacher’s Periodical establishing separate public schools for guide that comes with the video. This black and white students unconstitu- guide is also available on the Icarus site tional, paving the way for integration. (see <http://icarusfilms.com/guide/ CapTain Cap (voL. 1) Brown was a major victory and helped ls_teacher.pdf>). One section of the by Alphonse Allais; translated from propel the civil rights movement of supplement notes that the question of French by Doug Skinner. Black Scat the 1960s. The Brown case was handed who can marry today remains contro- Books, London, U.K., 2013. Absurdist down by what is known as Warren versial and the guide invites students Texts & Documents Series, No. 11. 60 Court, because the Chief Justice at that to look at the issues. (Loving, of course, pp., illus. Trade. ISBN: N/A. time was Earl Warren. Their unani- was a case cited in the initial court mous (9–0) decision stated that, “sepa- ruling in favor of same-sex marriage.) Reviewed by Edith Doove, Transtechnology rate educational facilities are inherently Prepared by the Southern Poverty Law Research, University of Plymouth. E-mail: unequal.” Center, the materials are valuable on <[email protected]>. I do not recall studying the 1967 Lov- their own terms, and I think teach- ing case in school, although it certainly ers will find them useful. This guide The translation into English of drew on Brown. Like the Brown case, includes maps and timelines, expand- Captain Cap as the first in a series of the Warren Court struck down Loving ing the discussion with sections on three is both welcome and very timely.

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