Matriarch of Interracial Marriage Dies

Mildred Loving dies at 68.

Black woman Mildred Loving and white husband Richard Loving were the first interracial couple to challenge Virginia's ban on interracial marriage in 1967. This challenge created a milestone in history’s racial equality. Their conflict was taken all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court which led to a significant ruling in defense of racially mixed marriages in at least 17 states. “There can be no doubt that restricting the freedom to marry solely because of racial classifications violates the central meaning of the equal protection clause,” the court unanimously ruled.

Richard Loving died in 1975. It is recorded Mildred Jeter was 11 when she and 17-year-old Richard began courting. She became pregnant a few years later at age 18, in which she and Loving got married in Washington in 1958. Mildred never realized their marriage was illegal. “I think my husband knew,” Mildred said in an interview. “I think he thought (if) we were married, they couldn't bother us.” The couple was arrested a few weeks after they returned to hometown Central Point just north of Richmond, Virginia.

Together they pleaded guilty to charges of “cohabiting as man and wife, against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth.” Together they also avoided jail time by leaving Virginia for 25 years. After living in Washington for several years, they then began a legal challenge by writing to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. From him their cased was referred the case to the American Civil Liberties Union. With perfect timing as lawmakers passed the Civil Rights Act, many blacks living amongst the Southern states were defying Jim Crow's Laws. The couple returned to Virginia with their three children, Donald, Peggy, and Sidney, after the Supreme Courts ruling. Today June 12 signifies the anniversary of the ruling and Loving Day celebrations across the United States are held in honor of the advances of mixed-race couples.

“We loved each other and got married,” Mildred told The Washington Evening Star in 1965 as the case was pending. “We are not marrying the state. The law should allow a person to marry anyone he wants.”