Miscegenation, Eugenics, and Racism: Historical Footnotes to Loving v. Virginia
![handle is hein.journals/davlr21 and id is 433 raw text is: Miscegenation, Eugenics, and Racism:
Historical Footnotes to Loving v.
Virginia
Paul A. Lombardo*
This Essay explores private correspondence contained in a restricted
manuscript collection' along with contemporary news accounts and gov-
ernment documents to explain how eugenics - a popular scientific
movement during the 1920s - was used to bolster the arguments in
favor of the Virginia Racial Integrity Act of 1924 that was struck down
in Loving v. Virginia. The genesis of the Act is described with reference to
the private correspondence of the two Virginians who lobbied for its pas-
sage. Their involvement with the white supremacist Anglo-Saxon Clubs of
America is revealed as an aid to understanding the true motives behind
the antimiscegenation law.
* Attorney at Law, Sacramento, California. A.B., 1971, Rockhurst College; M.A.,
1975, Loyola University of Chicago; Ph.D, 1982, and J.D., 1985, University of
Virginia.
The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance and encouragement of Professor
Walter Wadlington whose premier scholarship on Loving v. Virginia is the starting
point for this Essay and who generously pointed out the existence of the John Powell
Collection upon which it focuses.
I The John Powell Collection (#7284) Manuscript Department, University of Vir-
ginia Library. The Powell papers are divided into material of professional interest,
primarily relating to John Powell's career as a musician; and private interest, including
correspondence, speeches, etc. on various political controversies such as the race ques-
tion. The private material makes up a very small percentage of the collection, and
access is restricted. I wish to thank Professor Earnest Mead, literary executor of the
Powell estate, for his permission to study the restricted portions of the John Powell
Collection [hereafter Powell Collection] (cited portions on file with the U.C. Davis Law
Review).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/davlr21&div=17&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Miscegenation, Eugenics, and Racism: Historical Footnotes to Loving v. Virginia
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