Mildred Loving has Died

[Moon Man]

Mildred Loving, matriarch of interracial marriage, dies

By DIONNE WALKER, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 5 minutes ago

RICHMOND, Va. - Mildred Loving, a black woman whose challenge to Virginia's ban on interracial marriage led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling striking down such laws nationwide, has died, her daughter said Monday.

Peggy Fortune said Loving, 68, died Friday at her home in rural Milford. She did not disclose the cause of death.

Loving and her white husband, Richard, changed history in 1967 when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld their right to marry. The ruling struck down laws banning racially mixed marriages in at least 17 states.

They had married in Washington in 1958, when she was 18. Returning to their Virginia hometown, they were arrested within weeks and convicted on charges of "cohabiting as man and wife, against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth," according to their indictments.

The couple avoided a year in jail by agreeing to a sentence mandating that they immediately leave Virginia. They moved to Washington and launched a legal challenge a few years later.

After the Supreme Court ruled, the couple returned to Virginia, where they lived with their children Donald, Peggy and Sidney.

Richard Loving died in 1975 in a car accident that also injured his wife.

In a rare interview with The Associated Press last June, Loving said she wasn't trying to change history — she was just a girl who once fell in love with a boy.

"It wasn't my doing," Loving said. "It was God's work."

Moon

[backstop]

Amazing that it was still against the law in 1967.

[hansolo]

Amazing that it was still against the law in 1967.

And probably still frowned upon in many parts in 2008.

[JWB]

Amazing that it was still against the law in 1967.

I agree.

[slow groove]

Moon

Sad to hear.

Proposed that one of our affinity groups that staged a Lunch -n- Learn over Black History Month this past Feb. do a small piece on both she and her husband. Extraordinary story.

"I wasn't trying to change history — I was just a girl who once fell in love with a boy."

Damn! Beautiful. Simple. True.

[Moon Man]

Amazing that it was still against the law in 1967.

That's why I get so upset when people think racism isn't still a big deal. We had separate facilities for whites and blacks in large sections of the country not 50 years ago. Laws against interracial marriage, and allowing restrictive covenants in housing even more recently. Incredible.

Moon

[slow groove]

That's why I get so upset when people think racism isn't still a big deal. We had separate facilities for whites and blacks in large sections of the country not 50 years ago. Laws against interracial marriage, and allowing restrictive covenants in housing even more recently. Incredible.

Moon

Agreed. Racism is alive and well. To a lesser degree? Hard to say. But I'm repeatedly astounded when I hear people vehemently say that discrimination and prejudice is not as bad as some make it out to be; that it is, basically, exaggerated in its severity. I've seen too much and continue to see too much, notably in corporate america. This country still has a way to go.

[jhanke]

Odd that the same people also don't like gay marriage.

[Dr.Gonzo]

Odd that the same people also don't like gay marriage.

[Twister18]

Sad to hear about anyone dying but how bout the parents naming their kid Dick Loving?

[FAR52]

Odd that the same people also don't like gay marriage.

Well, I think you would have to do an analysis of the political make up of the 17 state legislatures which passed the ban on interracial marriages to determine whether your GOP presumption is even accurate. I'm guessing it's not.

[jhanke]

Well, I think you would have to do an analysis of the political make up of the 17 state legislatures which passed the ban on interracial marriages to determine whether your GOP presumption is even accurate. I'm guessing it's not.

if I go by party affiliation i agree, but if we look at background and religious make-up I may be right. the Dixiecrats became Republicans around the time Regan became POTUS

[kah]

That's why I get so upset when people think racism isn't still a big deal.

I feel kind of bad doing this, because obviously Moon is being sincere here, and because it's also thread hijacking. But I feel compelled to point something out.

[Moon Man]

I feel kind of bad doing this, because obviously Moon is being sincere here, and because it's also thread hijacking. But I feel compelled to point something out.

Wow. You really take some big leaps, don'cha?

So, you think my disdain for institutionalized racism is contrary to my not giving a shit about whether an anti-semite can post his drivel on a fucking sports message board? You're just too rich, man.

Moon

[kah]

So, you think my disdain for institutionalized racism is contrary to my not giving a shit about whether an anti-semite can post his drivel on a fucking sports message board?

Yeah, pretty much.