As others have written, Mildred Jeter Loving died last Friday. She and her late husband Richard were co-plaintiffs in Loving v. Virginia, which in 1967 struck down the remaining miscegenation (anti-mixed-ethnicity marriage) laws.
That case has long given me hope that Hubby and I might enjoy legal marriage without having to move to the one state in the Union that permits it. (And even then garners no federal recognition.)
Less than a year ago, at the decision’s fortieth anniversary, Mildred Loving herself made the connection:
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.
Thank you. We’ll keep at it.
Hear! Hear!