Why the marriage of Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving is Important:
The marriage of Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving is important because their fight to court to marry and. to be able to live where they wanted to live changed America when the Supreme Court ruled in their favor and annulled the state laws prohibiting interracial marriages
Born:
Richard Perry Loving: October 1933 in Central Point, Caroline County, Virginia
Dolores Mildred Jeter :. Abt. 1939 in Central Point, Caroline County, Virginia
Death :.
Richard: June 29, 1975, after their car was hit by a drunken driver. Richard was 41 when he died. Richard is buried in Central Point, Virginia
Mildred :. May 2, 08 at his home in Central Point, Virginia. Mildred died of pneumonia at the age of 68.
How Mildred and Richard Met:
Richard first met when Mildred he was 17 and she was 11. Growing up, their friendship blossomed into romance
Wedding Date :.
When Mildred was 18 and Richard was 24 when they married June 2, 1958 in Washington, DC
Mildred's father and one of his brothers were the witnesses at their wedding ceremony. "They chose the name of a minister of a phone book and, immediately after the ceremony to get into the car and returned to Central Point."
Source: Virginia has not always been for lovers , page 10.
Arrest:
Five weeks after their wedding they were awakened at 2 am by police and arrested for being married to another. During their time in prison, Mildred and Richard were housed on different floors.
On January 6, 1959, after pleading guilty to the charge against them, they were sentenced to one year in prison. The sentence was suspended for 25 years "on condition that the Lovings leave the State and not return to Virginia together for 25 years."
Source: Lovingday.org
Loving vs. Virginia Court Case
After facing housing discrimination in Washington, DC, and be unhappy not to live near their families, Mildred wrote a letter to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy . Kennedy sent the letter to the American Civil Liberties Union and the lawyer Bernard S. Cohen took their case. After many setbacks throughout a period of nine years, their case was heard before the US Supreme Court in 1967 decided unanimously in their favor
Children :.
Mildred and Richard had three children and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren
- Donald Love: .. Donald died in 00.
- Peggy Loving
- Sidney Love
Resources about Mildred and Richard Loving:
Virginia has not always been for lovers
by Phyl Newbeck
Mr .. and Mrs. Loving (1996)
Showtime film
Mildred on the film: ".. Not much of it was very true the only part of this right was I had three children"
Source: Dionne Walker, USAToday.com "Pioneer of intrracial wedding look back" 10/06/07
Quotes on marriage of Mildred and Richard love:
Mildred "love for all" statement, 12/06/07: "I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love , commitment, fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. This is what love, and loving, are all about "
Source: Freedomtomarry.org
Mildred Richard:" .. he used to take care of me, he was my support he was my rock "
Source :. Dionne Walker, USAToday.com," Pioneer of intrracial wedding look back "10/06/07
Richard about the decision of the Supreme Court "for the first time, I could put my arms around [Mildred] and publicly call. she my wife "
Source:.. Skeeter Skeeter Sanders Report Biters".. True Love Knows No Color "11/06/07
Richard to their lawyer:" Mr. Cohen, told the court, I love my wife, and it is just unfair that I can not live with her in Virginia "
Source: Douglas Martin." Mildred Loving, who fought Ban on intermarriage Race, dies at 68 " NYT.com, 06/06/08
Bernard Cohen, lawyer :. "They were in love with each other and wanted the right to live together as husband and wife in Virginia, no interference of the bureaucracy. "
Source :. NPR.org" Loving decision :. 40 years of legal interracial unions "
Chief Justice Earl Warren, June 12, 1967:" ... the freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the pursuit of happiness by free men. Marriage is one of the "basic civil rights of man," fundamental to our very existence and survival ... under our Constitution, the freedom to marry or not to marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and can not be infringed by the State "
Source: FindLaw.com ..