Did all states have anti-miscegenation laws? Or were there states were blacks and whites specifically could get married? I am writing a screenplay set around this era and want to know if there were any states where interracial marriage was legal or possible at all where two of my charcters could get married? Was it at all possible in the US at this time? I am specifically wondering about Illinois and California in particular. Thank you very much.
Oh certainly, while many (if not most) states had anti-Miscegenation laws in place, several did not, with most anti-miscegenation laws being repealed in three different waves. First after Reconstrution, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Pennsylvania, and several others all had their miscegenation laws overthrown before 1900. California's was overturned in 1948 in the case Perez v. Sharp which kickstarted another wave of miscegenation legislation being repealed after this. Finally, and most famously Loving v. Virginia struck down the last of miscegenation laws in Dixie and the South.
For an excellent book in miscegenation, see Peggy Pascoe's book: What Comes Naturally: Miscegenation Law and The Making of Race In America. The book covers the idea of race as a legal concept through laws like miscegenation laws. She also covers the Loving v. Virginia case that ended miscegenation.