At 2 AM on July 11, 1958, newly married couple Richard and Mildred Loving were abruptly awakened in their bedroom by a Virginia sheriff. The sheriff questioned Richard, a white man, asking, "What are you doing in bed with this woman?" Mildred, a woman of both Black and Indigenous American heritage, responded, "I'm his wife." The sheriff retorted, "Not here, you're not." During that era, Virginia still had laws against interracial marriage, and the Lovings were taken into custody for their unlawful cohabitation. For nearly nine years, the couple was forced to live away from their hometown, but they eventually boldly decided to challenge the state's discriminatory laws in the Supreme Court. In 1967, the groundbreaking Loving v. Virginia ruling effectively decriminalized interracial marriage throughout the entire United States.
On the 40th anniversary of the decision, Mildred stated: "I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard's and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the 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. That's what Loving, and loving, are all about." Beginning in 2013, the case was cited as precedent in U.S. federal court decisions holding restrictions on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, including in the U.S. Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges
@VisionaryVoid @fasc1nate Love, courage, persistence. 💖💖💖
@VisionaryVoid @fasc1nate Thank you for your diligence and courage! We the People are grateful ! 💕
@VisionaryVoid @fasc1nate Genuine love and genuine leaders. Leading by example and from the heart.
@VisionaryVoid @fasc1nate 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Well said, Mrs. Loving! 😃🤗👍🏻
@VisionaryVoid @fasc1nate Good for you x
@VisionaryVoid @fasc1nate This is the face of courage