RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Mildred Loving, a black woman whose challenge to Virginia's ban on interracial marriage led to a landmark
Supreme Court ruling striking down such laws nationwide, has died
Loving and her white husband, Richard, changed history in 1967 when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld their right to marry. The ruling struck down laws banning racially mixed marriages in at least 17 states.
"It wasn't my doing," Loving said. "It was God's work."
Her husband died in 1975. Shy and soft-spoken
she never wanted to be a hero—just a bride.
Loving got married in Washington in 1958, when she was 18
she didn't realize it was illegal
they were arrested a few weeks
They pleaded guilty to charges of "cohabiting as man and wife, against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth
avoided
jail time by agreeing to leave Virginia
legal challenge by writing to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy
After the Supreme Court ruled, the couple returned to Virginia
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