Supreme Court Archives - The Swirl World

Interview with Loving Movie Co-Star Will Dalton!

December 11, 2016 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway Leave a Comment

We can’t get enough of Mildred and Richard Loving.

We’ve written about them before. This year, we even featured a podcast first – a slide show by our good friend, former podcast guest and fellow Swirler Williesha Morris.

The slide show commemorated her crowd funding campaign for Loving Day 2016 in Birmingham, Alabama.

We also added a Loving Day tab to our header!

Interview with Loving Co-Star Will Dalton

Our podcast co-host Adrienne London Leach had a phone conversation with actor Will Dalton, co-star in the Loving movie.

Today, we’re pleased as punch to feature her interview with Will.

Will plays the role of Virgil, Richard Loving’s best friend.

The movie is up for some Critics’ Choice Awards.

Instagram post courtesy of Will Dalton

The Critics’ Choice Awards Show airs tonight, December 11 at 8 pm Eastern/5 pm Pacific.

Be sure to tune in and send Will and the other members of the Loving cast some good vibes and well wishes!

In the meantime, listen in as Will discusses how he landed the coveted role.

Will also shares some priceless advice from movie legend Sidney Poitier, and provides his own philosophy and approach to life.

If you cannot see the podcast player, click here or here.

If you cannot see the Sound Cloud player, click here. You can also head over and listen to the show on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, or PlayerFM – and now on iHeart Radio!

Shout Out!

Our Shout Out! goes to Stepha LaFond, creator of the Modern Thriving Mama Program. When speaking of her mission, Stepha says,

“My mission is to empower women to boldly step out into the world and create the life they have always dreamed of.”

Stepha helps ambitious women who feel like they are overwhelmed juggling the demands of life, career, and family. They desire more balance and for now but fear that it will never be their reality. Together with her clients, Stepha addresses the stories that have kept them in their current patterns and works diligently to break these patterns through delegation, boundary setting and ritual development. As a result they feel more empowered and in control and are able to approach life with more ease.

To learn more about Stepha, click here. To connect with Stepha on Twitter @StephaLaFond, click here.

Want to be a guest on The Swirl World Podcast, or know someone who should?

Send an email to Podcast@TheSwirlWorld.com.

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You can also follow us on Sound Cloud and listen to the show on Stitcher Radio. You can also hear us on PlayerFM!

Loving Day Is Today!

June 12, 2016 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway 1 Comment

Today Is Loving Day!

I never tire of reading about the wonderfully compelling love story of Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving.

In June 1958 they decided to buck the tide of ignorance and racism and pursue their American dream: to spend their lives living and loving each other in holy (and legal) matrimony.

The “Crime” Of Interracial Marriage

They had to go to Washington, DC for the ceremony. Even so, they were arrested in their own bedroom in the middle of the night by sheriff’s deputies for the “crime” of interracial marriage.

Richard and Mildred were prosecuted by the state. They were sentenced to a year in prison for their “crime,” but allowed to leave Virginia.

For 5 years they lived in exile, separated from their families and banished from the home state they loved.

Mildred and Richard finally grew tired of the fact that they couldn’t live as a married couple in any state they wanted to live.

Fighting Back

They decided to fight back. In June of 1967, nine years to the month they were married, a decision was rendered in a landmark Supreme Court case.

They had won. At long last, Richard and Mildred had the right to live and live in marital bliss anywhere in the United States.

Their decision to fight back changed the legal landscape for interracially married couples.

Sadly, the Supreme Court decision didn’t end racism, hatred, ignorance or intolerance. These days, turning on the evening news is almost a sure-fire way to remain painfully aware of the fact that racism – whether inherent, overt or covert, real or imagined, never seems to be far from the surface.

I’m grateful for the advances that have been made, yet I’m mindful of the fact that 1967 was merely 49 years ago.

Nevertheless, interracial couples (we’re especially partial to those featuring Black women!) flourish and thrive because the actions of this brave couple paved the way.

A Bittersweet Ending

The Loving’s story had a bittersweet ending. In 1975, 17 years after their marriage, Mildred Loving lost her husband Richard in a tragic car accident. Mildred died in 2008 but she never remarried.

In a statement issued on the 4oth anniversary of the historic Supreme Court decision (June 12, 2007 – the year before she died) Mildred declared:

“ . . . not a day goes by that I don’t think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the ‘wrong kind of person’ for me to marry.”

So Grateful!

I thank God for Richard and Mildred Loving, and for them having a love for one another that transcended the climate and laws of their day.

Richard and Mildred, today we celebrate you – and we celebrate love.

Happy Loving Day!

Today’s featured couple is Karla and Don, both retired Navy veterans.

They have been married for 22 years.

Karla and Don were first featured on the blog in 2014. To read that post, click here.

Karla and Don also were featured on a series of podcast episodes:

Podcast Episode 032 – Life, Love and Marriage – In the Navy!

Podcast Episode 033 – How To Manage a Long Distance Marriage

Podcast Episode 034 – The 3 Key Ingredients Necessary for Attracting a Quality Mate

Podcast Episode 035 – “My Parents Tried To Diss The Woman I Love!”

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To learn more about Loving Day and support a crowd funding project launched by Williesha Morris, click here.

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Copyright ©2016 Michelle Matthews Calloway, The Swirl World™ LLC, ASwirlGirl™, The Swirl World™, The Swirl World Podcast™, The Swirl World Inspiration Daily™, Swirl Nation™, All rights reserved. Photo used with permission.

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#163| Oh Happy Loving Day!

June 12, 2015 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway Leave a Comment

Today is Loving Day!

I never tire of reading about the wonderfully compelling love story of Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving, who in June of 1958 decided to buck the tide of ignorance and racism and pursue their American dream – which was to spend their lives living and loving each other in holy (and legal) matrimony.

They had to go to Washington, DC for the ceremony but were arrested in their own bedroom in the middle of the night by sheriff’s deputies for the “crime” of interracial marriage.

The Lovings were prosecuted by the state and sentenced to a year in prison for their “crime” but allowed to leave Virginia in exile.

For five years they lived in exile, separated from their families and banished from the home state they loved. The Lovings finally grew tired of the fact that they couldn’t live as a married couple in any state they wanted to live.

They decided to fight back and in June of 1967, nine years to the month they were married, they eventually won the right to live and live in marital bliss anywhere in the United States because of the decision rendered in a landmark Supreme Court case.

These days, turning on the evening news is almost a sure-fire way to remain painfully aware of the fact that racism – whether inherent, overt or covert, real or imagined, never seems to be far from the surface.

I’m grateful for the advances that have been made, yet I’m mindful of the fact that 1967 is merely 48 years ago.

The Loving’s story had a bittersweet ending. In 1975, 17 years after their marriage, Mildred Loving lost her husband Richard in a tragic car accident. Mildred died in 2008 but she never remarried.

In a statement issued on the 4oth anniversary of the historic Supreme Court decision (June 12, 2007 – the year before she died) she declared:

I thank God for Richard and Mildred Loving, and for them having a love for one another that transcended the climate and laws of their day.

Richard and Mildred, today we celebrate you – and we celebrate love.

Happy Loving Day!

Today’s featured couple, Tom and Alida Sharp, live in Belize. Alida says they met in high school when Tom “shoved an Oreo® cookie in her mouth!”

They have been married for almost 33 years.

To listen to the story of that Oreo cookie, click here. To learn more about their life in Belize, click here.

The Swirl World Team is committed to sharing 365 days of inspiration in 2015. Our goal is to help you stay motivated and inspired by bringing you positive, uplifting images and corresponding thoughts.

We’d love to FEATURE YOU in one of our Inspiration Daily posts! If you’d like to be featured, please send a nice, clear photo to InspirationDaily@TheSwirlWorld.com.

Lovingly Submitted

April 16, 2011 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway 4 Comments

In the past couple of weeks I’ve been hearing news and reading a lot of blogs about the anniversary of the Civil War.

Of course I’m happy about the outcome. What Black person or person of color – particularly in the United States – wouldn’t be?

Black people have suffered a lot of drama and trauma since May 12-13, 1865, the date of the last reported battle of the War. On both sides soldiers shed a river of blood in that war which is quite a sobering thought, yet today in 2011 we have blowhards like Donald Trump believing he’s being broad-minded and a champion of the people when he makes really intelligent statements asserting that he “has a great relationship with the blacks.”

Sigh.

*_*

Sorry folks, I’m feeling some kinda way about that statement and just had to get that out.

On another note, what the talk of the Civil War anniversary really made me think about was the wonderfully compelling love story of Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving, who in June of 1958 decided to buck the tide of ignorance and racism and pursue their American dream, which was to spend their lives living and loving each other in holy (and legal) matrimony. They had to go to Washington, DC for the ceremony but were arrested in their own bedroom in the middle of the night by sheriff’s deputies for the “crime” of interracial marriage.

Mildred Loving and her husband Richard P Loving are shown in this January 26, 1965 file photograph

The Lovings were prosecuted by the state and sentenced to a year in prison for their “crime” but allowed to leave Virginia in exile.

They lived in exile, separated from their families and banished from the home state they loved, for five years and finally grew tired of the fact that they couldn’t live as a married couple in any state they wanted to live. They decided to fight back and in June of 1967, nine years to the month that they were married, in a landmark Supreme Court case they eventually won the right to live and live in marital bliss anywhere in the United States.

Thankfully, I’m feeling some kinda way about that, too.

Richard and Mildred Loving - Love transcends race

Trump’s statement struck a nerve in me because it made me painfully aware of the fact that racism – whether inherent, overt or covert, real or imagined, never seems to be far from the surface. I’m grateful for the advances that have been made, yet I’m mindful of the fact that 1967 was only 44 years ago.

Yesterday (April 15, 2011) the world premiere of The Loving Story, a documentary telling the story of Richard and Mildred, debuted at the 13^th annual Full Frame Festival in Durham, NC.

Though the documentary tells the Lovings’ story of forbidden and what-was-then-illegal interracial love, it also explores the heavier themes of miscegenation and racism.

[Sidenote: Get ready for it (and go ahead and get over it): Those are themes we’ll discuss in upcoming blog posts. You have Donald Trump to thank for that – I had originally intended to keep this blog pretty light but his statement really made me feel some kinda way. Those posts will be lovingly submitted, of course.]

The Loving’s story had a bittersweet ending. In 1975, 17 years after their marriage, Mildred Loving lost her husband Richard in a tragic car accident. Mildred died in 2008 but she never remarried, and in a statement issued on the 4oth anniversary of the historic Supreme Court decision (June 12, 2007 – the year before she died) she declared:

Richard and Mildred Loving - Reflecting a more perfect union

“ . . . not a day goes by that I don’t think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the ‘wrong kind of person’ for me to marry.”

Today I thank God for Richard and Mildred Loving, and for them having a love for one another that transcended the climate and laws of their day. I thank God I live in a country where, like Mildred, I can freely choose the person I believe is the right person for me to marry. And, like Mildred, not a day goes by that I don’t think of SM and our love, our right to marry, and how much it means to me to have the freedom to marry the person most precious to me.

I like to think that God lovingly submitted SM to me – and me to him.

Join in the fray:

What has been “lovingly submitted” to you?

Interview with Loving Movie Co-Star Will Dalton!