Thanks, Mildred

The Washington Post is reporting that Mildred Loving passed away on Friday at the age of 68.

Just wanted to take some time to pay tribute to this woman, to whom I personally owe a lot of gratitude. She and her husband Richard were at the center of the 1967 Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia (aka one of the most important civil rights cases probably no one has ever heard about), which resulted in a landmark ruling that broke down laws prohibiting interracial marriage in the United States.

According to the Census Bureau, there are about 4.3 million mixed-race married couples now sprinkled in cities throughout the country, me and TJ included, who are able to travel and live together freely without fear of arrest or interference from the state. And for that, many thanks to Mildred Loving, who was quiet and humble and never considered herself a hero, just a girl who fell in love with a boy.

NPR has a good story on the 40th anniversary of the Loving decision last June. Also, reprinted here is a wonderful statement made by Mrs. Loving on the 40th anniversary of the ruling. As a bonus, listen to the Supreme Court's oral argument of the case here and read the full written opinion here.