"The ban on mixed marriages in this country is traceable from the early colonial period. For example, Maryland forbade the practice of marriage unions between Negroes or Indians and white persons as early as 1663. Laws forbidding marriages between Negroes and whites were passed in Massachusetts in 1705, in Delaware in 1721, in Virginia in 1726, [32 Cal.2d 748] and in North Carolina in 1741. In 1724, it was decreed in France that no Negro-white marriages were to take place in Louisiana. Most of the remaining states enacted similar legislation in the period between the formation of the United States and the Civil War."
~John W. Shenk, CA Supreme Court, dissenting opinion Perez vs. Sharp, 1948
In 1691, if in a relationship with a black or native person, you were banned from Virginia for life.
Laws in colonial Virginia stated that if a minister married an interracial couple, he would be fined. Half the money would go to the king of England, the other half would go to the informer.
On plantations, babies born to fathers who were slaves were considered slaves. If the baby’s father was free, then the baby was “free”. This caused plantations to lose many slaves.
Interracial marriages were opposed because this meant that children of slaves would be free, and the owners of the slaves would lose money. From now on, babies would be judged by the mother’s status.
Registration of Birth and Color, 1924, Library of Virginia
For the Sunny South. An Airship with a ‘Jim Crow’ Trailer, 1913, Library of Congress
In 1868, Jim Crow laws, or Black Code, controlled African-Americans, forcing them to segregate. Jim Crow laws were abolished in 1964, three years before Mildred and Richard went to the Supreme Court.
During the antebellum period, over 21 states had anti-miscegenation laws. The laws enforced separation based on race. In 1924, Virginia created the Racial Integrity Act. It became illegal for a white person to marry a black person and prevented interracial couples from leaving Virginia and coming back married.
The New Virginia Law to Preserve Racial Integrity, 1924,
Virginia Health Bulletin, vol. XVI
"Let us look at Jim Crow for the criminal he is and what he has done to one life multiplied millions of times over these United States and the world. He walks us on a tightrope from birth."
~Rosa Parks, c.a. 1956-1958
Header photo: The Lovings, 1965, Grey Villet/Monroe Gallery of Photography