Who Was Mildred Loving?

I will be completely honest; I never knew who Mildred Loving was until today, but I am definitely glad that someone brought her story to light.

Mildred Loving was the woman some deemed "The Rosa Parks of Love", simply because she challenged the justice system in their efforts to stiffle her love for a white man. Mildred (Jeter) met Richard Loving when she was only 11 years old and Richard was 17. After dating for a few years, Mildred became pregnant. The two were married in 1958 when Mildred turned 18. Initially when the couple got married, Mildred had no idea that the marriage was illegal, until one day the couple was arrested and pleaded 'guilty' to "cohabiting as man and wife, against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth”. Ultimately, they were spared jail time but they had to promise to leave their home of Central Point, VA. The couple relocated to Washington, D.C. but decided that they would no longer deal with being "pushed" out of the place that they called home and decided to challenge the ruling. They wrote to Robert F. Kennedy, then Attorney General, and he in turn referred the case to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

In 1967, The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Loving and her husband Richard had the right to marry. This resounding ruling blew down laws in 17 other states that banned cross-racial marriages.

"We loved each other and got married," she told The Washington Evening Star in 1965, when the case was pending. "We are not marrying the state. The law should allow a person to marry anyone he wants." She said she never tried to be a hero. "It wasn't my doing," Loving said. "It was God's work."

Last Friday, May 2nd, at the age of 68, Mildred Loving passed away. But not without making her mark in history and many many lives. Richard Loving passed away in 1975 due to an automobile accident.