Co-presented by the City of Fairfax and Center for the Arts at George Mason University

In support of Virginia Opera’s world premiere production of Loving v. Virginia, co-commissioned with the Richmond Symphony, this legal panel discusses the origins, challenges, and significance of the 1967 Supreme Court ruling that struck down state laws banning marriage between individuals of different races. Panel participants will include Mary Bauer, Executive Director of ACLU-VA, as well as other constitutional scholars, active attorneys and/or judges, and experts in the area. There will be a brief Q & A session following the discussion.

This event is offered in conjunction with the Center for the Arts at George Mason University’s May 3–4 performances of the world premiere opera—composed by Damien Geter, with libretto by Jessica Murphy Moo, and directed by Denyce Graves. Loving v. Virginia is based on the true story of Mildred and Richard Loving, a married couple from Central Point, VA, who were criminally charged for their interracial marriage and forced to leave the state to avoid prison sentences, then took their case to the Supreme Court and won this landmark victory for civil rights in the United States. This complimentary event is an open-to-the-public presentation of the Friends of the Center for the Arts Artists in Conversation Series.

FREE, but registration required.
Stacy C. Sherwood Community Center
3740 Blenheim Boulevard, Fairfax, VA 22030

MODERATOR:

• Stephen Jacques Wermiel, Professor of the Practice in Constitutional Law at American University
  Stephen has written the definitive biography of the late Supreme Court Associate Justice William J. Brennan Jr, who was a pivotal member of the Warren Court, when major civil rights decisions were decided, including Loving v. Virginia. He is also a past member of the Board of Governors of the ABA and past chair of the ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice. Much of his scholarship is focused on the workings of the Supreme Court. Stephen has appeared on multiple C-SPAN panels and lecture series, among many appearances.
  

PANELISTS:

• Eric M. Caplan, Visiting Assistant Professor of History at Wesleyan University
  Currently writing the biography of Philip Hirschkop (one of the original ACLU attorneys for the case, who was also a founding member of ACLU-VA)
  
  
  
• Erin Chapman, Associate Professor of History at George Washington University
  Erin is a scholar of race and sexuality in US culture and a historian of gender politics in the 20th-century black freedom movement.  She is currently researching a biography focused on the art and activism of journalist and playwright, Lorraine Hansberry (best known as the author of the 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun).
  
  
  
• Mary Bauer, Executive Director, ACLU-VA
  Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Virginia since June 2021, Mary Bauer previously served as the legal director for Muslim Advocates, as legal director for the Southern Poverty Law Center and the ACLU of Virginia, and as general counsel for Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc. Bauer has had a long and varied relationship with the Legal Aid Justice Center, serving as legal director of its Immigrant Advocacy Program, director of advocacy, and, for five years, its executive director. 
  
  

SPONSORS

Altria, VA Commission for the Arts, the NEA, CultureWorks, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.