The book follows their story from when they met, to falling in love, to getting married, to the Supreme Court Case that eventually legalized interracial marriage in the United States: Loving vs. Virginia (Duignan).

The Case for Loving utilizes a mixed medium approach including gouache, acrylic, collage, and color pencils (Alko and Qualls 3). The bright colors of the background and the happy poses of the family create feelings of happiness and safety. The Loving family is centered on the page. By utilizing a mixed medium approach, the look of the family is reminiscent of the art from vintage sewing patterns based on the shape of the clothing and positioning of the people. Perhaps this is based on the art style and trying to conjure the aesthetic of the time period. The family is centered on both pages with happy expressions dotting their faces. They are treated with respect by the image, and the Loving family is truly depicted as loving.

The art in The Case for Loving potentially finds inspiration or reference to primary source art from the actual family and picturebook history. An American photojournalist named Grey Villet took photos of the Loving family that represented them with dignity and respect and depicted them as literally loving, just like the book. Two photos from the Loving collection are immediate stand outs: the two photos below. The first depicts the children as laughing in an almost ethereal pastoral setting. The second photo depicts Richard and Mildred standing together on their porch. The photo conveys not only the ethereal pastoral and very real setting, but also feelings of joyous love the family has for each other. The Case for Loving reflects these themes on the spread from pages twenty-seven through twenty-eight with the pastoral setting and joyous emotions.

In Michelle Martin’s Brown Gold, she discusses the book Sam by Ann Herbert Scott which was published during the time of the Loving’s in 1967. The book details the experiences of the daily life of a black family at the time. In Sam, the author “shows that black families have the same problems and conflicts that other families have…[it] focuses on the realism of black family life, and in so doing, depicts some of the daily realities of being a young Black American during this time” (Martin 52). While The Case for Loving depicts the horrifying and racist actions the family faces, the book, and this spread in particular, depicts that the Lovings are just a normal and loving family. As Sam was one of the defining works of Black children’s literature in the 1960s, it is possible that Sam influenced the creation of The Case for Loving through its portrayal of real Black families.

Word Count: 420

Works Cited:

Alko, Selina, and Sean Qualls. The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2015.

Duignan, Brian. "Loving v. Virginia". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016, https://www.britannica.com/event/Loving-v-Virginia. Accessed 28 November 2021.

Martin, Michelle H. Brown Gold : Milestones of African American Children’s Picture Books, 1845-2002. Routledge, 2004.

Villet, Grey. Mildred and Richard Loving, Pictured on Their Front Porch in King and Queen County, Virginia, in 1965. 1965, https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/bb9e0bd6950788c76b77e054cbc0601e0186023e/0_0_4357_2914/master/4357.jpg?width=1010&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=804d482daf8c9c7842bf58ba8df79460.

---. Peggy, Sidney and Donald, Playing in the Fields near Their Virginia Home. 1965, https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ea4c614f90fadcb235b52ac5cfe2857d0e7cf99a/0_0_4500_3000/master/4500.jpg?width=1010&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=b5b82fa33c514bbabc014437bfc86850.