Mildred Loving
Mildred Loving (born June 22, 1939 in Central Point , Virginia as Mildred Delores Jeter , † May 2, 2008 in Milford , Virginia) was an American civil rights activist of African American origin. In the case of Loving v. Virginia filed a lawsuit in Federal Supreme Court over the legality of her marriage to a white man , which was raised to the new legal standard and overruled previous laws against intermarriage .
Life
Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving met when she was only 11 years old, when he was 17. They lived north of Richmond , Virginia, where mixed marriages were prohibited by a 1924 law. At the age of 18, Mildred became pregnant and the couple decided to get married. The Lovings traveled to Washington, DC , where the wedding was legal, but on their return to Central Point, Virginia , they were charged under the then law against mixed marriages. When they returned from the wedding, they were arrested by the sheriff after he received an anonymous tip. The Lovings pleaded "guilty" and had to leave Virginia on the condition not to re-enter as a married couple for the next 25 years, otherwise they could face jail time. Only after a few years, when Loving was increasingly suffering from the forced separation from her relatives who were still living in Virginia, did she write to the US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy , who referred the couple to an American civil rights organization that supported the Lovings in a lawsuit. The lawsuit eventually ended in the US Supreme Court. This decided on June 12, 1967 in its judgment Loving v. Virginia that any prohibition of interracial marriage is against the United States Constitution.
June 12th has been known as Loving Day in the United States ever since .
The couple had three children: Sidney (1957-2010), Donald (1958-2000) and Peggy (* 1960).
Richard Perry Loving died in 1975 as a result of a traffic accident caused by a drunk driver. Mildred Loving was seriously injured and lost her right eye in the same accident.
She did not marry a second time and died in 2008 at the age of 68. She left behind two children, eight grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.
reception
About the life of the couple was created in 1996 under the title of Mr. & Mrs. Loving a TV movie in which Mildred Loving of Lela Rochon was shown.
Director Nancy Buirski made the documentary The Loving Story in 2011 .
In 2016, director Jeff Nichols filmed the case again under the title Loving . Ruth Negga took on the role of Mildred Loving, her husband was played by Joel Edgerton . The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival 2016 .
Web links
- Mildred Loving in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- "Tell the court that I love my wife" at spiegel.de
- The love story did changed history: Fascinating photographs of interracial marriage at a time When it was banned in 16 states (english)
Individual evidence
- ^ Richard and Mildred Loving, The Love Story that Made Marriage a Fundamental Right , accessed June 10, 2016
- ↑ Mildred Loving, Who Battled Ban on Mixed-Race Marriage, this at 68 at nytimes.com, accessed on June 10, 2016
- ↑ Mr. & Mrs. Loving in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- ↑ Cannes Film Review: 'Loving' at variety.com, accessed May 15, 2016
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Loving, Mildred |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Jeter, Mildred Delores |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American civil rights activist of African American origin |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 22, 1939 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Central Point , Virginia |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 2, 2008 |
| Place of death | Milford , Virginia |