40 Years Ago Interracial Marriages Were Illegal

With all the bad news in the newspaper, we sometimes forget how great the times are that we live in. It's amazing to think that just 40 years ago, you could get jail time if you married someone outside of your race. The Washington Post (registration required) retells the love story between Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter that changed it all when the Loving v. Virgina case was won 39 years ago.

The Loving case started in rural Caroline County, Va., about 100 miles south of the District. Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter were young people in love. She was just 18. She was black and he was white. They traveled in 1958 to the District, where interracial marriages were legal, took their vows, came home and, at 2 a.m., were arrested in bed by deputies. They were prosecuted and sentenced to a year in jail. Caroline County Circuit Court Judge Leon Bazile suspended the sentence -- so long as the couple left the state and did not return together for a quarter-century....The Lovings moved in exile to the District. And then they sued.

To celebrate and remember this civil victory, Ken Tanabe (of mixed heritage) has created a networking and resource website for couples of mixed races at www.lovingday.org.