On any day walking in the hallways, you can find numerous interracial couples holding hands, giving a quick peck before class, or any other forms of PDA

This has become a norm that most of us are used to and do not look twice at.

However, this was not the case 50 years ago for Richard and Mildred Loving. 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the historic case of Loving v. Virginia.

Richard, who was white, and Mildred who was black were a married couple in 1958 Carolina County Virginia. However, their marriage violated the 1924 Racial Integrity Act which made it illegal for a white person to marry another race other than their own.

In their rural community, the police raided their home and their District of Columbia marriage certificate was invalid in Virginia.

They were charged and exiled out of Virginia for 25 years, forced to move to D.C..

They were distraught about being in a new city and away from their families. Eventually, they fought back in court going all the way to the Supreme Court.

In 1967, the Supreme Court unanimously agreed that Virginia’s law violated the Equal Protection Clause and the Due Process Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment.

The Loving v. Virginia case set a precedent to fight against discriminatory practices that were  at an all time high in the 1960s.

The case was used to support same-sex marriage  in 2015. The legacy left behind by the case still ripples in today’s society.

A new movie called Loving starring Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton as Mildred and Richard Loving, is set to release this spring showing the struggle of the couple.

The movie follows the couple in their struggle to be a free couple. It was released Nov. 11, 2016 and received wide acclaim.

In 2013, 12% of newlyweds married a different race than their own.

In a 2015 survey by the Pew Research Center 37 percent of Americans think that interracial marriages are good for society. That is up 24% from the previous year.

Without the Loving family, interracial relationships have become a norm in society, even our biggest celebrities are in interracial couples.

The acceptance of interracial relationships is seen all over our TV shows and movies.

AHS is lucky to be a part of a state that changed America in such a monumental way. The Loving case changed Virginia precedent for years to come.

Now when we walk down the halls of Annandale, we need to be more appreciative of the sacrifices that go behind it.

The 50th anniversary shows us how far, but also how little we have come as a nation.