In honor of the Oscar-nominated movie “Loving” now playing in select theaters, we’re reading the beautiful picture book The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage by Selina Alko and Sean Qualls.
For most kids today, it would come as a great shock to know that before 1967, they could not marry a person of a race different from their own. Mildred Loving and Richard Perry Loving fell in love and got married in Washington, D.C. But when they moved back to their hometown in Virginia, they were arrested for violating that state’s laws against interracial marriage. The Lovings refused to allow their children to hear the message that their parents’ love was wrong and so they fought the unfair law, taking their case all the way to the Supreme Court—and won!
See below for praise about The Case for Loving:
- *“A much-needed work on a historical court case that made the ultimate difference on mixed race families that will resonate with contemporary civil rights battles.” School Library Journal starred review
- *Kirkus Reviews starred review
- *Publishers Weekly starred review
- *Booklist starred review
- *Horn Book starred review
- New York Public Library 100 Notable Books for Reading and Sharing
- Book Links 2015 Lasting Connections
- Kirkus Best Picture Books of 2015
- 2016 Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Books of the Year
- 2016 ILA-CBC Children’s Choices List
