Wise words....
Mildred Loving, whose 1967 Supreme Court case against the state of Virginia over interracial marriage resulted in the banishment of the last of the nation's segregation laws, died on May 2 at the age of 68. The final sentence in Loving's NYT obituary makes note of her June 2007 statement to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia. The conclusion of that statement:
"The older generation’s fears and prejudices have given way, and today’s young people realize that if someone loves someone they have a right to marry. Surrounded as I am no w by wonderful children and grandchildren, not a day goes by that I don’t think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the “wrong kind of person” for me to marry. I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry. Government has no business imposing some people’s religious beliefs over others. Especially if it denies people’s civil rights. I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard’s and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That’s what Loving, and loving, are all about."
3 comments:
Yes
We're not where we should be yet, but Mildred is right. Love, commitment, fairness, family. That's what it's all about.
Thanks be to God for Midred and Richard Loving. And, thanks be to God that Mrs. Loving understood that no one can be free unless everyone is free.
In the run-up to the last General Convention, we (and probably members of many other dioceses) sat in a parish hall discussing the resolutions on the Civil Rights Movement asking our black brothers and sisters to forgive us for our slowness to understand and support them in their struggle for freedom and rights. I thought as I sat there that in about thirty more years (give or take) we would be back in that parish hall, or another just like it, discussing those same resolutions for another General Convention, except that our gay and Lesbian brothers and sisters would be the ones we would be begging for forgiveness the next time around. Does it always have to be part of the human condition that we cannot learn from one experience and apply it to the next?
Post a Comment