黑料正能量

In his native Caroline County,听痴颈谤驳颈苍颈补,听Mark Loving II’s听family name is well known.听Beyond generations of rootedness, there is both听a听plaque at the courthouse and a historical marker听about听his family history. One reason why听Mark听came to 黑料正能量: some anonymity in a rural landscape not dissimilar to home.

But being one of a crowd is shortly coming to an end for this sophomore kinesiology major who plays basketball and has plans to become a physical therapist.听On Friday, Nov. 4, a movie will be released, the title of which is one word: his surname.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think too many people know,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut that鈥檚 starting to change. The word has got out there.鈥�

Challenging one of the nation鈥檚 oldest laws

Virginia鈥檚 law against听interracial marriage听was first established in 1624. More than 200 years later, in 1958, Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, a woman of the Native American听race听(Rappahannock Indian) decided to travel to Washington D.C. to marry.听Virginia was still one of 24 states that barred marriage between the races.

Returning to Caroline County, the听Lovings听lived together for five weeks听before they were听arrested for violating Virginia鈥檚 Racial Integrity Act.听Both Mildred and Richard spent time in prison before they agreed to leave Virginia and not return, together or separately, for 25 years.

After five unhappy years in Washington D.C., Mildred Loving wrote to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which eventually helped them to successfully challenge the law听in the U.S. Supreme Court. The 1967 court case eventually led to the demise of miscegenation laws around the country.

Movie set to gain Oscar听nods

Mark, the oldest great-grandchild of Mildred and Richard Loving, loves听(and yes, that鈥檚 the right verb) just about every part of the new movie听about his great-grandparents听that premieres at the tonight and opens nationwide on Friday [Nov. 4].

鈥淚 can鈥檛 pick a favorite part,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 my family story. I love it all. The whole situation that occurred disturbs me, but seeing these two loved ones never give up and fight … I would not be here, my grandma, father, siblings, uncles, aunt.听鈥�

The , starring Joel Edgerton and Ruth听Negga and filmed entirely in Virginia, earned听excellent critical听reviews at both the Cannes and Toronto film festivals.听[Watch the trailer .] The original story was shepherded by Martin Scorsese into the sights of director and screenwriter听Jeff Nichols. The film was produced by听Nancy Buirski, Sarah Green, Colin Firth, Ged Doherty, Marc Turtletaub, and Peter Saraf. The film was inspired by Buirski’s documentary .

Peggy Fortune, Mark鈥檚 grandmother, is the caretaker and guardian of the family history; her two brothers have both died, as did Mildred in 2008, when Mark was 11.听

His grandmother鈥檚 endorsement听in this project, Mark says, was important.听

The parts he loves best, if he had to pick, are when his great grandfather, Richard, speaks. 鈥淗e wasn鈥檛 a talkative person, so when he does say things 鈥� he means it,鈥� says Mark, whose middle name, Perry, is shared with his father and great-grandfather.

One of Mark鈥檚 favorite lines is Richard Loving鈥檚 succinct criticism of the law they were fighting. The words were read by听their听attorney to the U.S. Supreme Court justices: 鈥淛ust tell the court I love my wife.鈥�

He also told a Life magazine reporter in 1966, 鈥淲e have thought about other people, but we are not doing it just because somebody had to do it and we wanted to be the ones. We are doing it for听us.鈥�

A loving family

While Mark was close to his grandmother and spent every weekend at her house, he says she usually avoided talking about his great-grandfather. Richard Loving died in a car accident just six years after they moved back to Virginia; Mildred was blinded in one eye in that accident and never remarried.

Even their time in Virginia was not quite the life they鈥檇 hoped for.

鈥淣o peace,鈥� Mark said, 鈥渘o peace at all. They were always harassed. They didn鈥檛 want that听at听all. They just wanted to be together. And then they waited so long to be together and just six years later, he was gone. She had a lot of tragedy in her life. It hurts me to think about it.鈥�

Mark was in the fifth grade when she died. He remembers her home filled with family and friends听that day.听After losing the听matriarch听of his family, he says听鈥渋t just been different … We are missing just that one special piece.” He was also awakened to a family story that he hadn鈥檛 quite understood, but now听continues to engage with.听

One constant source of amazement, Mark says, is that their decision to fight to be together and to live together still has such long-reaching consequences and that so many Americans have been affected by those long-ago choices that his great-grandparents made.

Since 1967, interracial marriages have steadily risen in the United States. In 2013, a record听high听12 percent of all U.S. married couple households are interracial or interethnic, according to听Pew Research听(nationwide, 6.9 percent of all married couples, not just newlyweds, are in interracial marriages). Recent news articles in the and the highlight the stories of mixed-race couples who share the Loving legacy.

Family speaks to听history听

Mark Loving didn’t quite slide into anonymity at 黑料正能量. Professor Mark Sawin recalls seeing the Loving surname on the roster of his fall 2015 U.S. history course.

“On the first day, I approached him after class and asked if he was related to the Loving family made famous by the Supreme Court case,” Sawin recalls. “He beamed at the question and told me that he was their great-grandson. That was a wonderful connection … it’s always important for students to see that history is relevant to their lives, that it still influences their present and their future. For Mark, that connection is obvious.”

With the legacy comes responsibility. Currently, his grandmother Peggy, father Mark and cousin Sylvia听handle media听inquiries听and the growing听public听interest about the story. Mark has been listening and learning.听One听day, he anticipates being a spokesperson. He carries a deep respect for the experiences of his great grandparents, their suffering,听the听sadness in their life, and for the responsibilities of sharing that story, of staying true to both their love and the pain they endured through social ostracism and then, early tragedy.

鈥�They were courageous to take it that far, as far as they did,” he said. 鈥�All that loving听鈥μ�and we have the last name of Loving.听We have that name for a reason.鈥�