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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 30, 2016)
November 30, 2016 Page 13 Following Where Love Led Them C ontinued from p age 11 found the legal strategy, to be sure. But a new film that bears the couple’s name, “Loving,” quietly demonstrates that Mil- dred and Richard Loving derived the necessary clarity simply from loving one another, and from fol- lowing where that love led them. Focusing less on the legal drama and more on how these two unas- suming young people experienced their decade-long-struggle for the right to live as a couple in their home state, director Jeff Nichols tenderly shows us what their love looked like. The attacks against it seem so outrageous now -- yet withstanding those attacks re- quired commitment far more un- swerving than rhetoric can muster. Plainly, love was the ingredient most essential to necessary trans- formation and social change. In 1958, 16 states still carried anti-miscegenation laws, and a Gallup poll indicated that 94 percent of white Americans still disapproved of interracial mar- riage. (Oregon finally repealed its law against interracial marriage in 1951, but was hardly progres- sive; Oregon did not ratify the Fifteenth and Fourteenth Amend- ments until 1959 and 1973, re- spectively.) Undertaking marriage was, for the Lovings, a radical act, though there is little sign that they approached it with that sort of awareness. She was 19, he 25, and they both grew up in a poor, rural community where some amount of mixing apparently was happening underground. They did not mean to challenge anyone -- but their quiet reach for legitimacy clearly was an affront to what were ironi- cally experienced as values in the broader culture. Nichols’ film took its inspira- tion from an excellent 2011 HBO documentary, “The Loving Story” -- worth watching as a companion to the feature film. Neither film contains any speeches or theoriz- ing; the Lovings are themselves the best way in to the story. Nichols nicely depicts how the culture of white supremacy is re- inforced -- with directives to and from the white community, but with punishments doled out dis- proportionately to people of col- or. When the couple is arrested in their bedroom in the middle of the night, Richard is asked what he is doing with Mildred, who answers that she is his wife. Both are taken to jail, but Richard is not allowed to bail out pregnant Mildred after his sister quickly posts his bail. Mildred instead spends several additional days in jail, alone and frightened. Richard’s mother likes Mildred well enough, but doesn’t defend the marriage; in her mind, Richard is to blame for the couple’s trou- bles because he “knew better.” One senses that, had Richard just taken Mildred, as his privilege would have allowed, and kept the relationship out of sight, nothing might have happened -- and in- deed, a black character suggests after their convictions that Rich- ard can solve his problems by simply divorcing Mildred, even if he wishes to continue cohabiting with her. Taciturn Richard’s loyalty to and love for Mildred is conveyed not with verbal explanation, but with his steady focus on providing for her and with the ease of their physical connection. The couple finds acceptance mainly in the black community, where Richard moves about with facility. Richard clearly fits the mold of the South- ern white man, as unlikely a hero as one could imagine; Australian actor Joel Edgerton captures his resolve and his clarity, even as he hangs back in interactions with lawyers and the press. He avoids public appearances and the court- room, but instructs his lawyer to “Tell the judge I love my wife.” While Richard focuses on keep- ing the family safe and providing for them, quiet Mildred is the clear driver of the legal struggle. She carries in her bones two of the most oppressed cultures in Ameri- can history, yet watches the events of the Civil Rights Movement on her television set as she raises her three young children. What drives her, finally, is homesickness; Ruth Negga, a revelation as Mildred, conveys the resignation and long- ing that builds in her during the years the couple spend in Wash- ington, D.C., far from their rural home. Mildred finally wrote to Attorney General Robert Ken- nedy seeking assistance in 1963. He referred her to the ACLU, and two young men new to legal prac- tice handled the case. At several points, it is obvious that Richard would not have pursued this route, and Mildred must gently persuade him. It is she who dares to hope, as well; after their loss in the state appellate court, she tells the press that she feels hope: “We may lose the small battles, but win the big war.” Then it’s back to ironing, and wrangling her children. We need stories like these, and director Nichols has found the right way to tell this one. As depicted here, just as in the documentary, Mil- dred and Richard show us the way forward; they know who they are, and they keep moving onward, living their truth, and loving. Darleen Ortega is a judge on the Oregon Court of Appeals and the first woman of color to serve in that capacity. Her movie review column Opinionated Judge ap- pears regularly in The Portland Observer. Find her movie blog at opinionatedjudge.blogspot.com. It Does Good Things TM This page is sponsored by Oregon Lottery C alendar November 2016 MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY 14 15 16 17 William Steig born, 1907 National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day 21 Leo Politi born in 1908 Mayflower Compact Signed in 1620 World Hello Day 28 Tomi Ungerer born, 1931 Magellan reached the Pacific (1521) America Recycles Day Pack Your Mom Lunch Day 22 Stop the Violence Day John F. Kennedy As- sassinated in 1963 (35th President) 29 Madeline L’Engle born, 1918 King Tut’s Tomb Opened (1922) Jean Fritz born, 1915 Fall of the Inca Empire (1533) Button Day 23 National Cashew Day 30 Mark Twain born, 1835 Stay At Home Well Day R Homemade Bread Day Take A Hike Day FRIDAY SATURDAY 18 19 Antarctica discov- ered in 1820 William Tell Day Gettysburg Address, 1863 by President Lincoln Prime Minister Indi- ra Gandhi in 1917 Mexican Revolution Day Traffic Light Patent- ed in 1923 27 24 25 26 Thanksgiving Day Black Friday Crescent Dragon- wagon born in 1952 Charles Schulz born in 1922 Charles Darwin pub- lishes ‘The Origin of Species’ in 1859 SUNDAY 20 Pins and Needles Day Astronomer Anders Celsius born, 1701
