Essay Example on Civil Rights Movement throughout my high years I was not Surprised

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In the first eighteen minutes of the film I was shocked that the officers were able to barge into the Lovings home and imprison them Having studied the Civil Rights Movement throughout my high years I was not surprised at the fact that the officers treated the Lovings this way but more so that the state of Virginia was able to do this that interracial marriage was against the law After watching the movie I was very interested in the Loving v Virginia case that I decided to do a little bit of outside research I wanted to know more about the way the 14th Amendment played a role in determining this case s outcome I wanted to also know more about what some of the Supreme Court judges had to say on this account Finally I wanted to know how the Loving v Virginia case impacted the American society today The film does a great job at showing the Loving s story and struggles that they went through I found it inspiring how they fought against what they knew was morally wrong Moreover this film made me think about the different elements I learned throughout this course This class made it easier for me to follow the Loving s case and route to the Supreme Court For example in the beginning of the semester we were assigned the Supreme Court current case term synopsis paper which was supposed to familiarize the class with reading and figuring out Supreme Court cases After doing this assignment I was able to do the same with the Loving v Virginia case The Lovings were tried and convicted at the 



October Term 1958 of the Circuit Court of Caroline County and appealed through the Supreme Court of the Virginia state system Indeed a grand jury issued an indictment charging the Lovings with violating Virginia s ban on interracial marriages Following that the Lovings pleaded guilty to the charge in hopes for a lighter punishment They were sentenced to one year in jail but the judge suspended the sentence for 25 years on the condition that the Lovings would leave Virginia and not return together for that period of time I noticed that the judge seemed to be a pettifogging kind of character He believed that a long suspended prison sentence was an act of leniency and that he was being nicer than the couple deserved The defense lawyer also seemed to think the same It is horrible to see that the racist attitudes ingrained in majority of the people in the county did not let Richard and Mildred be happily married to each other Most movies that take place during the Civil Rights era are confrontational Marches take place protests police brutality inspiring speeches and drama Jeff Nichols movie Loving approaches the topic from a different angle What I like most about the movie is that it is carefully crafted Meaning there are not many speechifying moments In fact neither Richard or Mildred say much to each other at all throughout the film it is all depicted more so through movement and emotions He is a hardworking bricklayer and always seems to have a frown on his face but it is still shown on his face how devoted he is to his wife

She on the other hand is a shy woman who truly cares and has loyalty to both her children and husband Just like Richard she is resilient Both are constantly told by close family members that they would be better off if they were to not see each other but they choose to ignore this The white people in the county do not like the couple s outward love at all Nichols does not showcase this with big dramatic scenes but one can still tell the hatred in the white folk s demeanors and expressions on their faces when they see the couple in public There are a few films that I have watched that truly speak to the American Civil Rights history as touching and with much idealism as Jeff Nichols s Loving The America that the Lovings were living in was much different than the one we are living in now The film s footage is charming in a way some things in the past used to be But most of the allure takes place in the simplest footage between Richard and Mildred Loving After being sent away for their 25 year suspension not much happened The couple grew old together and they had more children They began to feel homesick and Mildred was not fond of the idea of bringing up her children in a huge city She wanted to go back to the countryside I find it kind of comical how Richard s attitude seems reserved when the lawyers from ACLU American Civil Liberties Union talked about taking this case to the Supreme Court He held a sort of suspicion towards the media and did not say much unless it was tell the judge I love my wife


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