Mildred Loving died last week at the age of 68. She and her husband Richard changed history.
In 1958 seventeen-year-old Mildred and her childhood sweetheart, twenty-three-year- old Richard, left their small town in Virginia and traveled to Washington DC where they were married. Mildred was black. Her husband was white. After the wedding they returned home to rural Virginia. At 2AM the county sheriff rousted them out of bed and hauled them off to jail. Their District marriage certificate was no good in Virginia. They were charged with unlawful cohabitation. The judge sentenced them with a year in prison which would be suspended if they left the state. They moved back to Washington DC, but they missed home and longed to return. In 1964 they wrote to Attorney General Robert Kennedy and asked if any of the newly passed civil rights legislation would allow them to travel and live together in their home state. The Lovings just wanted to go home. They had no idea that their case would go to the Supreme Court and change the lives of so many. On June 12, 1967, the court ruled that restricting the freedom to marry solely because of racial classifications violated the central meaning of the Equal Protection Clause. The Lovings were able to go home and live the quiet life they had wanted.
Today my son and his beautiful wife are among 4.3 million interracial couples living in this nation. I am grateful that they were able to marry.
La Liga là gì? Lịch sử hình thành giải đấu
11 months ago
10 comments:
So sweet and so true. I love their story and I love that it has paved the road for so many to love and cherish those that they wish to be with. That is important.
Can you believe there was a time when love was a crime?..wait.
I guess in some ways,it still is.
I don't think anyone gives inter-racial couples a second thought today but for the trail-blazers it was traumatic. The heart wants what the heart wants and love can't be denied.
Do they live in the DC area? Even with the landmark Loving vs Virginia case, it must have been difficult at first. Was it hard for you too?
And now we have Barak Obama, product of an interracial marriage, running for President. I guess we have come a long way - even though we still have far to go.
They live in the Gaithersburg area. Have been married for 18 years. We were surprised when we met out D-I-L , but quickly learned to love her.
It still amazes me that all this occurred such a short time ago.
And yet...I still hear it.
Thankfully, the world is different enough that when my kids learn the history in school, they just don't get it. When they ask "Why?" I just say that we as human beings have a lot of learning to do.
My daughter-in-law is Japanese. She and my son have had some comments and stares over the years. I could not ask for a more wonderful girl for my son...and you have seen pictures of Sachiko and Spencer!
Amen, amen and amen.
I love that story. I didn't know of the case and yes, it's hard to imagine that era was not that long ago.
To exclude someone based just on color has never resonated with me. It sems so ridiculous.
I was wondering if they were able to live without any backlash when they moved back to their hometown as well...
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