Final answer:
Segregationists and white supremacists favored laws against interracial marriage to preserve racial purity and prevent Blacks from gaining political power, ensuring the perpetuation of a racially segregated society. The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loving v.
Step-by-step explanation:
Segregationists and white supremacists supported laws banning interracial marriage because they believed in the maintenance of racial purity and hierarchy. These individuals saw such marriages as a threat to social and political order, as interracial unions symbolized equality and blurred the rigid racial lines that segregationists were trying to preserve. The fear that Blacks would attain equal standing with Whites, particularly in the sphere of political power, incentivized the backing of anti-miscegenation laws. The support for laws against interracial marriage was also a tactic to discourage the challenge of segregation and the status quo by eliminating opportunities for solidarity and unity across racial lines, which could have united different races against common societal injustices.
The Loving v. Virginia case in 1967 was a pivotal ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that deemed anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional, effectively abolishing legal barriers to interracial marriages and reinforcing the principle that marriage is a fundamental right of all individuals, regardless of race. This ruling was a major victory against Jim Crow laws and the ideologies that fostered racial segregation and white supremacy.