
It was in 1958 that Mildred and Richard Loving were rudely awakened in the middle of the night when sheriffs burst into their bedroom and demanded, "Girl, what are you doing in bed with that man?"
Mildred and Richard pointed to the marriage certificate which they had hung over the bed.
"I'm his wife."
That was enough to get them arrested for breaking the anti-miscegenation laws of the state of Virginia; Mildred was black and Native American, and Richard was white. A few months later they plead guilty and were sentenced to a year in prison, to be suspended for 25 years if they left the state. They left, but soon missed their families. So in 1964 Mildred began to fight the laws that made her marriage a crime.
The fight had to travel all the way to the Supreme Court of the USA, but finally, on June 12, 1967, the laws that kept black and white people from marrying were unanimously declared unconstitutional.
Mildred and Richard had 3 children before he was killed by a drunk driver in 1975. Before her 2008 death from pneumonia, Mildred made a public statement that the fight for gay marriage was just as legitimate as her fight had been. She stated that love knows no colors or boundaries, and that's what Loving vs Virginia was all about. What a woman!
So on June 12 we celebrate the courage of Mildred and Richard Loving who broke the law when they married for love. In doing so, they began a fight that would ensure that future lovers wouldn't ever have to face what they did.
I write contemporary erotic romance, so my books reflect the society around us now. Most of my books are inter-racial to some degree, with heroes and heroines who are white, black, Hispanic, Arabic, Native American, Chinese, Russian, and every kind of blend of humanity. 4 of my books have black-white lovers, but one of them is a free download: Prescription For Love. (BF/HM)
The other 3 books are:
The Reluctant Bride: Black heroine, 2 white men who desire her.
Two For Tuesday: White heroine, black hero, an old love revisited.
Prophecy of the Undead: Black heroine, white Russian vampire hero.
Leave me a comment below telling me which of the 3 other romances you'd like to read. I'll choose a comment at random after midnight tonight and announce here on the site who wins a free eBook!
There's also a $25.00 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift-card to be given via rafflecopter, and lots of other goodies to be won on the other sites!
For the next blog in the hop, please head to the site of Lisa G. Riley:
http://lisagriley.com