Virginia School To Decide On Changing Name From Robert E. Lee To Loving Landmark Case

A high school in Virginia could be renamed to honor Mildred and Richard Loving and their landmark Supreme Court case striking down state bans on interracial marriage.

The Washington-Lee High School, located in Arlington, Virginia, could soon be named “Washington-Loving, ” The Associated Press reported. 

The Arlington school board voted unanimously to change the school’s name, which was named after Confederate General Robert E. Lee , back in June. 

Frank Bellavia, spokesperson for the Arlington School Board, said the proposal to name the school “Washington-Loving” was made by a 21-member committee consisting of community members, students, staff and faculty. 

The Loving couple, who legally married in Washington, D.C., in 1958 , were later arrested and convicted for violating a state law banning interracial marriages after returning home to Virginia. (Read more on the Lovings here .)

On June 12, 1967, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in the couple’s favor in Loving v. Virginia, striking down state laws banning interracial marriage.

The Arlington School Board is set to meet on Dec. 20 to discuss the name change, Bellavia told HuffPost. The board is then scheduled to vote on the new name on Jan. 10, Bellavia added.