On January 6, 1959, Richard and Mildred Loving were convicted of interracial marriage, given a one-year suspended sentence, and banished from the state of Virginia by court order. The couple later fought the law that criminalized their marriage and — on June 12, 1967 — won a U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down all bans on interracial marriage throughout the country. We cannot live up to our greatest ideals without confronting the realities of our history.