Mildred Loving Dies At Age 68

I am sad to say that Mildred Loving died on May 2. For those of you who don't know who Mildred Loving is, she fought the Supreme Court and won ending the ban on interacial marriages. She was angered by being banished from Virginia for marrying a white man so she fought the fight that was the landmark case striking down the last of the segregation laws to remain on the books - those requiring the separation of races in marriage. She died of pneumonia. The incident that caused the case to begin in the first place was quite appalling. Acting on an anonymous tip police busted into the bedroom of the couple as they lay together 5 weeks after their marriage and demanded to know who the woman Mr. Loving was sleeping with. Mildred Loving replied "I'm his wife" and pointed to the marriage certificate on the wall. To that the police replied "that's no good here." And so it all began. Though the Supreme Court struck down miscegenation laws many states were rebelliously slow to actually take the laws off their books. Alabama didn't remove their law from the books until the year 2000. Mrs. Loving stopped giving interviews but last year she issued a statement on the 40th anniversary of the announcement of the Supreme Court Ruling, urging that gay men and lesbians be allowed to marry. Rest in Peace Mrs. Loving, Rest in Peace.

sad Mildred Loving Supreme Court interacial marriages angered banished Virginia marrying white landmark case segregation laws pneumonia appalling police bedroom sleeping wife miscegenation laws gay men lesbians Rest in Peace