June 12, 1967: Loving v. Virginia

June 12, 1967: The Supreme Court of the United States rules, in the case of Loving v. Virginia, that laws barring interracial marriage are unconstitutional. A good way to start what became known as "the Summer of Love."

Richard Loving -- perhaps the name was appropriate -- was born in 1933. He was white. Mildred Jeter was born in 1939. She was part African-American and part Native American. Both were born and raised in Central Point, Virginia, 86 miles south of Washington, D.C. It was a mixed-race community, where whites, blacks and Natives all lived side-by-side.

Nevertheless, the Commonwealth of Virginia -- like Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Kentucky, Virginia's State government calls it a "Commonwealth" rather than a "State" -- had passed a "Jim Crow" law in 1924, the Racial Integrity Act. It forced people to officially identify as either "white" or "colored," ending the practice of black Virginians identifying as Native, or "Indian," in the lingo of the time. Once this happened, the "One Drop Rule" came into effect: You couldn't be "colored" and "white," and if you had any black or Native ancestry at all, you were "colored," and subject to racial discrimination.

Richard was raised around black people. His father worked for a wealthy black man. He became friends first with Mildred's older brothers, and then, in 1957, he started dating Mildred. In 1958, she became pregnant, and they went to Washington, D.C. and got married.

Mildred had a son, Sidney Jeter, from a previous relationship. Together, Mildred and Richard had a son, Donald, and a daughter, Peggy. (As far as I know, Mildred was not related to baseball star Derek Jeter, although Derek is also the son of an interracial couple.)

Although the District of Columbia was still segregated (and would be until the Civil Rights Act of 1964), interracial marriage was legal there. It was not legal in Virginia, thanks to the Racial Integrity Act of 1924. They were arrested.

On January 6, 1959, they pled guilty, and were sentenced to 1 year in prison. That sentence was suspended for 25 years, on the condition that they leave Virginia. They moved to D.C., but if they wanted to visit their families in Virginia, they had to go separately, or risk arrest and imprisonment.

On October 22, 1964, the couple sued the Commonwealth of Virginia in U.S. District Court. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court. The vote was unanimous, 9-0: Chief Justice Earl Warren, Hugo Black (a former member of the Ku Klux Klan, who turned coat and became a crusader for civil rights), William O. Douglas, Tom Clark, John Harlan, William J. Brennan, Potter Stewart, Byron White and Abe Fortas all ruled that laws prohibiting interracial marriage violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and they were thus stuck down.

With victory in hand, the Lovings moved back to Central Point, built a house there, and lived in that house for the rest of their lives. In 1975, their car was hit by a drunk driver. Richard was killed, only 41 years old. Mildred lost her right eye.

Donald Loving died in 2000, predeceasing his mother. Mildred Loving died in 2008, at age 68. Sidney Jeter lived until 2010. As of June 12, 2022, Peggy Loving is still alive. Byron White was the last remaining Justice from this case, retiring in 1993; and was also the last surviving Justice from the case, living until 2002.

Loving v. Virginia was cited as a precedent for Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 case that struck down laws banning same-sex marriages.

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June 12, 1967 was a Monday. Baseball was the only sport in season, and these games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 3-1 at Fenway Park in Boston. Gary Bell outpitched Joe Verbanic. Russ Gibson and Tony Conigliaro hit home runs for the Sox, Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-3. Mickey Mantle did not play.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves, 7-4 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Hank Aaron hit a home run, but Joe Torre went 0-for-4.

* The Washington Senators beat the Chicago White Sox, 6-5 at District of Columbia Stadium (renamed Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in 1969) -- in 22 innings. The winning run scored on a single by Paul Casanova. (Not an appropriate name on this day, especially for, essentially, the home team of Mr. and Mrs. Loving. Giacomo di Casanova was famous for having many loves, not for one.) It was Casanova's only hit of the game: He had been 0-for-8 up to that point. Cap Peterson went 4-for-9 with 2 home runs and 3 RBIs.

Tommie Agee, the previous season's American League Rookie of the Year, went 0-for-8 for the White Sox. His day as a baseball hero would come, but not with the White Sox.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-5 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The Pirates got home runs from Willie Stargell (no surprise) and Maury Wills (big surprise), and a 1-for-4 night from Roberto Clemente. Lou Brock went 3-for-4 with a stolen base in support of Steve Carlton, who still ended up as the losing pitcher.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers, 11-5 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Harmon Killebrew went 2-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBIs, while Rod Carew, named Rookie of the Year after the season, went 1-for-4. Al Kaline got on base 5 times, going 3-for-3 with 2 walks, but to no avail.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Kansas City Athletics, 10-2 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Brooks Robinson and Frank Robinson each went 2-for-4.

* The Houston Astros beat the San Francisco Giants, 5-2 at the Astrodome in Houston. Willie Mays did not play.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the California Angels, 7-5 at Anaheim Stadium. (It was renamed Edison International Field in 1997, and Angel Stadium of Anaheim in 2004.) Joe Azcue homered in the 4th inning, and drove in the winning run with a single in the 11th.

* And the New York Mets, the Chicago Cubs, the Cincinnati Reds and the Los Angeles Dodgers were not scheduled to play.