Mildred Loving has died at the age of 68.
In 1958, Mildred and her husband, Richard, were arrested and dragged out of their Virginia home. Their crime? Mildred was black, Richard was white.
Jailed, then banished from their state, they demanded justice, and ultimately received it: In 1967, the Supreme Court struck down all miscegenation laws remaining on the books. At least in theory.
The states themselves were slower to respond. The good folks of Alabama, for instance, didn't bother amending the state's constitution until 2000. Put another way, mixing of races remained illegal in Alabama for the entire twentieth century.
This was America, not so long ago. But the past is past. Things change, times move on. We've progressed, right?
Right?
