50th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia

There are too many resources available on this landmark case and precursor to Obergefell v. Hodges to list here.  A YouTube search reveals any of a number of documentaries of varying lengths.  here are some musical resources:

Loving v. Virginia, The Movie

Click here (or see below) to see the trailer for the upcoming movie release (November) of "Loving," the story of Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter and their case that made Constitutional history.

For more resources on Loving v. Virginia, see this earlier post and the music videos below.

Trailer:



Music videos:

Songs of the Supreme Court: Part Two

Here is the link to the original Songs of the Supreme Court post.  Now view Part Two:

Loving v. Virginia:



Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.:



Citizen's United v. FEC:



For all federal judges:

Law Music Video: The Loving Kind

This week's law music video post is The Loving Kind by Nanci Griffith.  See related posts here and here.

Nanci Griffith writes, "They changed the hearts of my nation, with their wedding vows." Would this have been true if the Supreme Court had upheld the Virginia Law? In other words, was it their wedding that fostered change or was it the court's willingness to embrace their wedding that changed the hearts (and minds) of the nation?

The award winning book, The Hollow Hope, argues that the Court's decision in Brown vs. Board of Education actually set back the cause of integration - that time and education would have brought quicker and more effective integration. Do you agree or disagree?  What, if anything, is the value of a Supreme Court decision on changing the "hearts and minds" of Americans?

More than 50 years after the Loving decision, there is still a durable belief among some that interracial marriage should be illegal. (This poll ascribes that position to 29% of likely Republican voters in Mississippi) Is this the best consensus that we can hope for in a pluralist society?  Do those who disagree with the Court's decision nevertheless acquiesce to it - or do they strive to change it?

Mildred and Richard Loving Photos Released

Newly discovered photos of Mildred and Richard Loving taken in 1965 have been made public. The Lovings were the plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case that struck down Virginia's anti-miscegenation laws. The photos were discovered during the making of a documentary, The Loving Story, due for release in February.  Click here to see the newly released photos.

Featured case: Loving v. Virginia.

The video below is a new release of a live performance of Nanci Griffith's musical tribute to the Lovings.

Songs of the Supreme Court

This is Thanksgiving Week and there are no classes at UConn. I thought it would be a good week to make a fun post and leave it up until classes resume next week.

This post is made up of songs realted to U.S. Supreme Court cases. I found songs on a few cases, but I am sure that there are more out there that readers will be able to share.  Please us the comment section at the end of the post to add your favorites and suggestions.

1. Brown v. Board of Education
The song Black and White written by David Arkin (Alan Arkin's father) and Earl Robinson.was inspired by the Brown case. The most famous recording of the song was by Three Dog Night in the 1970's.  However, that version inexplicably removed all the poignant references to the court. The version below is from Pete Seeger.



2. Loving v. Virginia
Singer/songwriter Nanci Griffith wrote and recorded this song to commemorate the 50th anniversary of this landmark decision.



3. United States v. US District Court
The song John Sinclair was written by John Lennon prior to this Supreme Court decision. Sinclair was one of the defendants whose case made up the subject of  the Supreme Court case.  Lennon famously performed the song at the "John Sinclair Freedom Rally" in Ann Arbor, MI in 1971.



4. Snyder v. Phelps (Westboro Baptist Church)
There are a large number of songs available on-line in response to the Westboro Baptist Church protests that were upheld by this decision. Many of them cannot be shared in polite company. I chose the one embedded below because I thought it best exemplified Justice Holmes' "marketplace of ideas" (although the phrase was coined by Justice Brennan).



If you have a song related to a Supreme Court case that you would like to share, please feel free to send it to me for a future post at mark.deangelis@uconn.edu.  I look forward you  to your comments and suggestions.

Featured Case: Loving v. Virginia

In this well known case, the US Supreme Court struck down  all anti-miscegenation statutes on both Substantive Due Process and Equal Protection grounds.  My favorite quote from the case is this:

The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men [and women]. Marriage is one of the "basic civil rights of man[kind]," fundamental to our very existence and survival.

There is a fair amount of video material available on this case. I have chosen to post a few videos that I hope you will find useful for presenting this case in class. First, there is an original ABC news report on the case from 1967. The second is a live performance by singer/songwriter Nanci Griffith of her song, The Loving Kind, written about Midred and Richard. This clip has already appeared and disappeared from YouTube a couple of times.  So, if it is here when you read this post, and you want to use it for educational purposes, you should download it for classroom use.  The third is The Ballad of Mildred Loving. Songs about Supreme Court cases are pretty rare, but this case has inspired at least two.  The last video makes a comparison to same-sex marriage restrictions and an appeal to keep religious beliefs from impacting civil rights. There are a number of good websites with personalized stories and images as well. Three may be found here, here and here.  Podcast.