Loving V. Loving Vs. Virginia Court Case

For nearly a century, the United States was occupied by the racial segregation of black and white people. The constitutionality of this “separation of humans into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life” had not been decided until a deliberate provocation to the law was made. The goal of this test was to have a mulatto, someone of mixed blood, defy the segregated train car law and raise a dispute on the fairness of being categorized as colored or not. This test went down in history as Plessy v. Ferguson, a planned challenge to the law during a period ruled by Jim Crow laws and the idea of “separate but equal” without equality for African Americans. This challenge forced the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of segregation, and in result of the case, caused the nation to have split opinions of support and

Plessy vs Ferguson is a similar topic of the book To Kill A Mockingbird. In both cases there was a bunch of segregation. Both people were found guilty because everyone on the jury was racist.

In the modern United States of America, all people of all races are supposed to be treated equally under the eyes of the law. There are no ethnicity separated schools, water fountains are not race specific, and anyone is allowed to sit wherever they want on the bus no matter the color of their skin. However, this is not how America always was. These dramatic changes to our society came about in the mid-nineteenth century during the civil rights movement. This peaceful movement consisted of many famous marches, boycotts, and speeches. The most important element of this movement was the civil rights activists. These people were articulate, strong willed, and empowering leaders that inspired Americans both at the time all the way through today. One man in particular, Malcolm X managed to stand apart from such an impressive crowd. His brilliant public speaking skills lifted people all around the USA to action. Although today he is respected and credited for his work during the time, his alternative methods were not always seen this way.

The Civil Rights Movement gained traction around the 1950s, paving the way for many other oppressed groups. These groups fought for different rights, but they still had a similar struggle to the original movement. One of these groups is the Gay Rights Movement. The comparison between the black civil rights movement and the gay civil rights movement is “typically a sensitive subject, even among liberals” (Williams). Some people believe that it is unfair to compare a fight for marriage to a fight to gain equality in every aspect. If they step back and see the bigger picture, they could tell that the structures are very similar. The Gay Rights Movement is similar to the black Civil Rights Movement.

In this paper, I will be talking about the equal protection of laws clause in 14th amendment interpreted in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson. This paper will focus on the concern over racial injustice in the judgment of Plessy v. Ferguson. Racial injustice is being looked in several aspects i.e. the argument of absolute equality, the objection to inferiority argument, the personal liberty argument and the good faith argument. In the end, I will conclude that the decision of Plessy v. Ferguson is a pernicious decision.

Loving v. Virginia. In Virginia of 1967 black and whites were not aloud to marry one another. The state of Virginia took this to the court and the united state constitution said that they agree with blacks and whites should not marry. With this decision came a punishment for whoever decided to break this new law. The United States supremacy court said "that because its miscegenation statutes punished both white and black participants in an interracial marriage equally, they cannot be said to constitute invidious discrimination based on race and, therefore, the statutes commanded mere rational basis

Facts of the case: In 1924, the state of Virginia passed the Racial Integrity Act of 1924 which banned the marriage between a white person and a person of color. The law only targeted interracial marriages that consisted of a white person and a non-white person. The act had additional provisions that penalized the travel out of state for purposes of marriage between a white person and person of color; upon return to Virginia, the marriage would be subject to Virginian law. The punishment for the marriage was one to five years incarceration, and the marriage would be void “without any judicial proceeding.” Aware of the Racial Integrity Act, Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, a black woman, traveled

This case, which concerned racial segregation laws for public facilities such as restrooms, restaurants, and water fountains, made its way all the way to the Supreme Court. As way of background, in 1890 Louisiana passed a law which required blacks and whites to ride in separate train cars. However, in 1892, Homer A. Plessy, who was a black man, boarded a car designated for whites only. He was asked to leave, but refused and was arrested immediately. In the case, Plessy vs Ferguson, Plessy’s position was that his rights were violated under the 13th and 14th amendments of the Constitution, which dictated equal treatment under the law. However, in 1896 Judge Ferguson of the Supreme Court ruled that Louisiana had the right to regulate railroads within state borders and created a “separate but equal” rule that lay the groundwork for future segregation. This shaped America’s future by aggravating the racial discrimination between blacks and whites. Specifically, laws were passed to keep blacks separate from whites in all sections of society, including education, restrooms, hotels, public transportation, and even cemeteries. Blacks were denied the right to vote and even had a curfew in some places. In summary, this court decision significantly worsened race relations and progress in society for many decades.

The law stopped discrimination against sexual orientation. Only a few months later, Milk was killed, and the bittersweet feeling of equal housing clung itself to the mouths of his supporters. Although these events took place thirty years ago, LGBT civil rights are still relevant today. On June 27, 2015, the United States Supreme Court ruled that every state had to allow same-sex marriage, something African-Americans have been permitted to do since the 1960’s. United States citizens divided themselves into two sides: one that was somber, dreading the impending doom of the apocalypse, while the other side screamed as loudly as each person could the praises of the beginning of a new

public segregation based on the color of one’s skin, is known as Plessy v. Ferguson ​

The road to end institutional racism in America was rocky, to say the least. It was filled with many setbacks, and triumphant victories that would shape the course of American history. Two court cases in particular, Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education, played a significant role in challenging Americas “separate but equal” doctrine. The ruling and precedent first set by Plessy v. Ferguson, was then challenged by Brown v. Board of Education, resulting in them relating to each other based on a changed precedent. The first time separate but equal laws were scrutinized was in 1892.

Decades ago, children of various races could not go to school together in many locations of the United States. School districts could segregate students, legally, into different schools according to the color of their skin. The law said these separate schools had to be equal. Many schools for children that possessed color were of lesser quality than the schools for white students. To have separate schools for the black and white children became a basic rule in southern society. After the Brown vs. Board of Education case, this all changed.

‘I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.’ On the 28th of August, in 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial declaring to over 250.000 citizens that he had a dream. A dream that one day, all men and women, whether black or white, Jewish or Christian, would be treated as equals. More than fifty years later, King’s dream seems to be nothing more than that: a dream. Just last year, Eric Garner, a black man, is choked to death by the police force in Staten Island, New York. A month later, a young black man is shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. In March

Racism has been around forever and it been passed down for generations, so to stop this, this generation has to teach their kids not to be racist, and teach them to be nicer to people, not because of their race, religion or gender, but because everyone needs to feel accepted in their community. As stated earlier, this type of ignorance has been around for a long time. Back when America was first starting to become a country, Africans were slaves being sold by whites and beaten to death if they tried to run away. Even after their freedom, they still weren 't being treated like humans. White people always treated them as if they weren 't human. Even today, white people are still treating people of different races differently, including the law. Few people are

In the stories of Loving V. Virginia and “ Desiree’s baby ” both take place back in the day when racism was prevalent. The United States Supreme Court invalidated laws prohibiting interracial marriage. Although one of them is a fictional story while for the other one is an article on a real case that happened. After a close reading of Loving V. Virginia and the fictional story Desiree 's Baby by Kate Cho both couples react to interracial marriage in a way that demonstrates race relations don’t allow them to be happy and they believe they are as equal as anybody else and deserve to live how they choose to live.