The Right to Marry

On Saturday, Nov. 15, 2-4 p.m. the Edendale Branch Library will host a discussion of the film, The Loving Story, including discussion of the historical fight by interracial couples to win the right to marry and the current struggle over gay marriage.

In 1958 Richard and Mildred Loving were married in Washington D.C. When they returned to their home state of Virginia they were arrested under state laws against interracial marriage. They chose to leave their home rather than face jail time. Eventually, when they couldn’t bear to stay away any longer, they went to the ACLU for help. In 1967 the Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court case overturned state laws that banned interracial marriage.

Through interviews and footage of their home life recorded at the time, The Loving Story depicts the battle fought by Richard and Mildred Loving to make their marriage legal in the State of Virginia. The Loving Story is an intimate and moving portrait of a couple defending their marriage. The film will be screened at the Edendale Branch Library on the following dates:

Tuesday, 10/28, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, 11/1, 3 p.m.

Tuesday, 11/4, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, 11/8, 3 p.m.

Monday, 11/10, 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, 11/13, 6:30 p.m.

On Saturday, November 15, 2-4 p.m. the Edendale Library will host a discussion of the film with a focus on the parallels to the current fight over marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples.

The screenings and discussion are part of a national program, Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle. Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle is made possible through a major grant from the National Endowment for Humanities, as a part of its Bridging Cultures initiative, in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.