|
|
Article: Quiet Va. Wife Ended Interracial Marriage Ban
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- May 6, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
|
Mildred Jeter Loving, 68, a black woman whose refusal to accept
Virginia's ban on interracial marriage led to a U.S. Supreme Court
decision in 1967 that struck down similar laws across the country,
died of pneumonia Friday at her home in Milford, Va.
The Loving v. Virginia decision overturned long-standing legal
and social prohibitions against miscegenation in the United States.
Celebrated at the time, the landmark case sunk to obscurity until a
1996 made-for-television movie and a 2004 book revived interest in
how the young, small-town black and white couple changed history.
A modest homemaker, Loving never thought she had done anything
extraordinary. "It wasn't my doing," Loving told the ...