On November 7, 1967, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark decision that invalidated state laws banning interracial marriage. In Loving v. Virginia, the Court held that statutes prohibiting marriage between persons of different races violated the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. The ruling overturned remaining anti-miscegenation laws across the country and marked a significant legal and social milestone in the civil rights era. Background: Anti-miscegenation laws had existed in various forms in North America since the colonial period and were widespread in many states by the 19th and early 20th centuries. These laws criminalized marriage or sexual relations between people classified as belonging to different racial groups, most prominently Black and white people. By the mid-20th century, growing civil rights activism, changing public attitudes, and legal challenges had brought these statutes under constitutional scrutiny. The case: The plaintiffs, Richard and Mildred Loving (a white man and a Black woman), were married in Washington, D.C., in 1958 and returned to Virginia, where interracial marriage was illegal. They were arrested, convicted, and given suspended sentences on condition they leave the state. After seeking relief through the courts, their case ultimately reached the Supreme Court. The Court unanimously ruled that Virginia’s law had no legitimate purpose independent of racial discrimination and that punishing interracial marriage violated the fundamental freedom to marry. Legal reasoning and impact: The Court’s opinion emphasized that distinctions drawn according to race were odious to a free people and that the freedom to marry is a vital personal right inherent in the concept of individual autonomy. By grounding its decision in both Equal Protection and Due Process principles, the ruling required states either to repeal or to stop enforcing anti-miscegenation laws. The effect was immediate: remaining statutes in states that had not yet repealed their laws became unenforceable, and interracial couples could legally marry nationwide. Legacy: The decision removed a key legal barrier to interracial marriage and contributed to broader civil rights advancements. Social attitudes did not change overnight, and interracial couples continued to face prejudice and discrimination in many communities. Over subsequent decades, however, interracial marriage rates rose and public acceptance increased. Loving v. Virginia has been cited repeatedly in later cases concerning marriage equality and personal liberty, including decisions that addressed same-sex marriage. Historical notes and sources: The basic facts of the case and the date of the Supreme Court’s decision are well documented in court records and contemporary reporting. This summary avoids conjecture about private motives or events beyond the publicly recorded legal proceedings. For direct sources, consult the Supreme Court opinion in Loving v. Virginia (1967) and contemporaneous newspaper accounts archived from November 1967.