Mildred Loving

American civil rights activist

Also known as: Mildred Delores Jeter

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 17, 2026

Quick Summary

Mildred Loving was an American civil rights activist, best known for her role in the landmark Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia. This case, decided in 1967, struck down laws in Virginia and 15 other states that prohibited interracial marriage.

Mildred Jeter, of African American and Native American ancestry, married Richard Loving, a white man, in 1958. Their marriage violated Virginia's Racial Integrity Act, and they were arrested and sentenced to a year in prison, suspended on the condition they leave the state. After writing to Attorney General Robert Kennedy, the American Civil Liberties Union took on their case. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that laws banning interracial marriage violated the Fourteenth Amendment, affirming the fundamental right to marry regardless of race.123

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

3 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Loving v. Virginia
…Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, a woman of mixed African American and Native American ancestry, traveled from their residences in Central Point, Virginia, to Washington, D.C., to be married on June 2, 1958. Having returned to Central Point, they lived in the home of Mildred’s parents while Richard,…
Read More
…Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, a woman of mixed African American and Native American ancestry, traveled from their residences in Central Point, Virginia, to Washington, D.C., to be married on June 2, 1958. Having returned to Central Point, they lived in the home of Mildred’s parents while Richard,…
Read More