In 1958, when Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter wanted to marry, 16 states including their home state of Virginia considered interracial marriage illegal. Loving and Jeter were forced to travel to Washington D.C. to become legally married, but were promptly thrown in jail upon returning home. The couple plead guilty and were sentenced to jail. The original sentence of 25 years was reduced under the condition that they not return to the state together for 25 years.  Separated from their families and barred from the state, the Lovings sought legal help from attorney Bernard Cohen. Eventually the case reached the Supreme Court, and on June 12, 1967 the Supreme Court declared the Racial Integrity Act of 1924 (which banned interracial marriage) unconstitutional along with all other interracial marriage bans in the United States. 

The United States has always been a melting pot of mixing; many slaves had children for their owners (whether consensual or not) creating the myriad of skin tones and features that populate the American population today. Until 1967, the idea that the races were separate and should remain separate was being staunchly upheld in the south even though a great deal of mixing had already occurred and elsewhere in the states interracial marriage had been happening for years (re: Fredrick Douglass and Helen Pitts, 1884). The victory of Loving v. Virginia was one of many steps needed to promote the ideas of equality and uphold the premise of freedom. However, even now, 47 years later people still have a problem with the idea of two people loving each other for who they are regardless of their skin color. In 2013, a simple Cheerio's commercial sparked a frenzy of outrage over the interracial family featured, proving that America is not post-racial and still has a ways to go.

References

1. Paul Holtum. "10 Fascinating Interracial Marriages in History". Listverse. January 25, 2011
2. Jessica Cumberbatch Anderson. "‘The Loving Story’ Takes Intimate Look At Virginia’s First Legal Interracial Marriage (PHOTOS)". Huffington Post. January 18, 2012
3. Scott Williams. "Timeline of Fredrick Douglass". African American History of Western New York; visited February 2014
4. Braden Goyette. "Cheerios Commercial Featuring Mixed Race Family Gets Racist Backlash (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. May 31, 2013
5. Ree. "Mr. & Mrs. Loving Legalizing Interracial". PSALMS to God. March 27, 2015