in memoriam

Mildred Jeter Loving, of Loving v. Virginia fame, passed away last Friday.

She was 68 years old and, heartbreakingly enough, was a widow for almost half of her life.

She, a black woman, dared to fall in love with Richard Perry Loving, a white man, in Virginia back in the 1950s. They went to Washington, D.C. to get married because their home state didn't see fit to allow such things.

Upon their return to Virginia, they were charged under the Virginia Code, which not only forbade inter-racial in-state marriages, but also refused to acknowledge inter-racial marriages legally performed in other states. They fought this ruling all the way up to the Supreme Court, leading to a landmark unanimous decision issued by Chief Justice Earl Warren in 1967.

Though anti-miscegenation laws remained on the books in several states for decades to come (Alabama being the last to officially rid itself of this in 2000), Loving v. Virginia marked a sea change in racial politics in America.

It seems that Mildred Loving herself was an unassuming woman, not intending to change the law of the land but rather wanting to simply marry the man she loved. Last year, in honoring the 40th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia, Mildred issued a public statement that read in part:

Surrounded as I am now by wonderful children and grandchildren, not a day goes by that I don't think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the "wrong kind of person" for me to marry. I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry. Government has no business imposing some people's religious beliefs over others. Especially if it denies people's civil rights.

I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard's and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That's what Loving, and loving, are all about.