Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Mildred Loving: Quiet Pioneer


In 1958, Mildred Jeter just wanted to be married to the man she loved, and live in her home state of Virginia. But this wasn’t possible. She and Richard Loving, her newly-minted white husband, had to get the Supreme Court to order the state, in 1967, to let the two come home and raise their family.

Perhaps it is progress that today, 40 years after the decision, we are considering a presidential candidate by such a union. But depending on which side you are on, Senator Obama is more or less electable due to his mixed heritage. So how much progress is this really?

James C. Collier

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2 comments:

Tar-bar said...

What a self-respect sistas seekin marriage to a wm doing the jimcrow era..Something smells in jamestown sexual exploitation maybe..We forget rape was very common in the deep south ..What if she was a he?

James C. Collier said...

Granted there was exploitation as you say, but I understand this was a childhood romance. It was also uncharacteristic for a wm to marry a bw for anything but true love, as the price for him (as well as her) could not measure up.