For one Dakota County couple, the struggle for “Freedom to Marry” predates the Minnesota Marriage Amendment by over four decades. “It’s deja vu. This is sheer ignorance and pride–just like 45 years ago,” said Thea Harriday, an Apple Valley resident who met her husband, an African American, over 43 years ago.
At the time, less than a decade had gone by since the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional in 1967 (Loving v. Virginia). Though Minnesota was one of a handful of states that had never enacted laws forbidding interracial marriage, the social stigma against it was strong. Harriday said her family disowned her and over 200 relatives living in the Twin Cities boycotted the wedding–an especially painful reminder of the prejudice that surrounded the young couple. Many years would go by before the Harridays’ marriage was recognized in all 50 states.
After four decades, Harriday’s family has come around and many have apologized, but she doesn’t want her own daughter, a lesbian, to have to endure the same hatred and societal censure she did.
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