RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Nearly 60 years after a Virginia couple defied a state law prohibiting interracial marriage, starting a battle that eventually overturned such laws nationwide, their story is heading to the big screen.
“Loving” tells the story of Richard and Mildred Loving, who were thrown into a Virginia jail in 1958 for violating the state’s ban on interracial marriage. They fought the law to the U.S. Supreme Court, which struck down the Virginia law and those in roughly one-third of the states in 1967.
Shooting for “Loving” finished in Virginia last week. It’s expected to be ready for theaters by the spring, but a release date hasn’t been set.
Filmmakers hope to send a strong message about marriage at a time when debates over who should be allowed to wed still linger.
____
Follow Alanna Durkin on Twitter at twitter.com/aedurkin. Her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/author/alanna-durkin
Comment count on this article reflects comments made on Breitbart.com and Facebook. Visit Breitbart's Facebook Page.