About McLaughlin v. State of Florida in 1964

About McLaughlin v. State of Florida in 1964 Background: An interracial black-white couple, identified only as McLaughlin in the ruling, was prohibited from marrying under Florida law. Like same-sex couples prohibited from marrying today, they chose to live together anywayand were convicted under Florida Statute 798.05, which reads: Any negro man and white woman, or any white man and negro woman, who are not married to each other, who shall habitually live in and occupy in the nighttime the same room shall each be punished by imprisonment not exceeding twelve months, or by fine not exceeding five hundred dollars. Fast Facts: McLaughlin v. Florida Case Argued: Oct. 13-14, 1964Decision Issued: Dec. 7, 1964Petitioner: McLaughlinRespondent: State of FloridaKey Question: Can an interracial couple be subjected to race-contingent fornication charges?Majority Decision: White, Warren, Black, Clark, Brennan, Goldberg, Harlan, Stewart, DouglasDissenting: NoneRuling: The Supreme Court ruled that the Florida criminal statute that prohibits an unmarried interracial couple from habitually living in and occupying the same room in the night-time denies the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the 14th Amendment, and is thus unconstitutional. The Central Question: Can an interracial couple be subjected to race-contingent fornication charges? Relevant Constitutional Text: The Fourteenth Amendment, which reads in part: No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. The Courts Ruling: In a unanimous 9-0 ruling, the Court struck down 798.05 on grounds that it violates the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court also potentially opened the door to full legalization of interracial marriage by remarking that the 1883 Pace v. Alabama represents a limited view of the Equal Protection Clause which has not withstood analysis in the subsequent decisions of this Court. Justice Harlans Concurrence: Justice Marshall Harlan concurred with the unanimous ruling but expressed some frustration with the fact that Floridas blatantly discriminatory law banning interracial marriage was not directly addressed. Justice Stewarts Concurrence: Justice Potter Stewart, joined by Justice William O. Douglas, joined in the 9-0 ruling but expressed firm disagreement in principle with its implicit statement that racially discriminatory laws might be constitutional under certain circumstances if they serve some overriding statutory purpose. I think it is simply not possible, Justice Stewart wrote, for a state law to be valid under our Constitution which makes the criminality of an act depend upon the race of the actor. Aftermath: The case put an end to laws banning interracial relationships as a whole, but not to laws banning interracial marriage. That would come three years later in the landmark Loving v. Virginia (1967) case.

How to Create a Character Profile

How to Create a Character Profile How to Create a Character Profile How to Create a Character Profile By Ali Hale Have you created character profiles for the main cast of your novel? While not all authors use character profiles, many find them a very handy tool for keeping track of their characters – and for developing and fleshing out those characters in the first place. Done well, a character profile can help you harness your creativity and really dig into who your characters are.   Sometimes, though, writers treat character profiles as a form-filling exercise, coming up with their character’s eye color, hair color, first job, etc without investing any of this with a deeper meaning. They might diligently complete character profiles for every character in their novel – even the bus driver who only has a walk-on part in chapter five – but they’re not any closer to having any real insight into their characters. So what should go in your character profile and how should you use it? What to Include in a Character Profile Firstly, not every character in your novel needs a profile at all. Characters who have a minor role (like your protagonist’s mother, who only appears briefly a couple of times) don’t need to be fully fleshed out. Of course, you might want to make some brief notes about them but this definitely doesn’t need to be an entire profile. Your main characters, though, should have individual profiles. That probably includes any viewpoint character. If you have an antagonist then it’s worth creating a profile for them too (after all, even if your main character just doesn’t get where the antagonist is coming from,  you  should). It’s entirely up to you how you structure your character profiles. In general, though, I’d suggest that: You don’t focus too much on physical details. You may want to include things like hair color and eye color if you’re ever likely to mention them – but you can leave them out if they’re not going to be relevant. The same goes for height and build: unless they’re unusual and significant, you don’t necessarily need them at all. If you are including physical details, think about how they relate to deeper aspects of your character. For instance, in Harry Potter, the fact that Harry has green eyes is significant because it’s the physical characteristic that links him to his mother. You spend some time exploring deeper questions about your character: things like what’s the mistake they regret most? or in what situations would they lie? or what false beliefs do they hold? These sort of questions will result in a much richer, more real character than a simple list of physical characteristics. The first ebook I ever bought online, back in around 2007, was Holly Lisle’s Create a Character Clinic. This is still one of my favorite resources for character creation: it goes far beyond the typical character questionnaire to dig deep into what really makes characters tick (and it includes lots of examples, too). If you’re using a template or questionnaire that you’ve found online, don’t feel that you need to complete every single part of it – especially if it’s a long one! Focus on the bits that are most impactful or that help you to imagine your character more fully: if you do decide to fill in the rest, you can simply do it at a later stage. Don’t get hung up on creating the â€Å"perfect† character profile before you begin writing – because it’ll almost certainly change as you go along. Which brings me on to Why Your Character Profile Will Need Updating Regularly If you create your character profiles during the pre-writing phase of your novel, you’ll almost certainly find that your understanding of your character shifts as you write the first draft. Perhaps the thing you  thought  they sincerely regretted from their past turns out to be something they’re actually quite proud of – at least initially. Perhaps you realize that it makes much more sense for them to have grown up somewhere rural, not in a city. Perhaps you change them radically: maybe you merge two characters together, or you change a character’s gender or age. (Or their name: a lot of my characters end up changing names part-way through the writing process as I figure out a name that’s a better fit.) Your character profile definitely isn’t set in stone. It’s fine to change your mind and rework it – but do make sure that you actually update it to reflect the changes you’ve made during the writing process. Otherwise, it can be very confusing several chapters later when you want to bring a character back in but you can’t now remember if they’re supposed to be 35 or 25, or whether they’re tall with dark brown hair or short with strawberry blonde hair. Character profiles can be a great tool for creating and fleshing out interesting characters for your novel; they’re also a useful working document that you can use to help you stay on track and keep things consistent during the writing process. If you’ve never created a character profile before, why not give it a go today? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Classes and Types of PhrasesBetween vs. In BetweenThe Difference Between "Phonics" and "Phonetics"