The "Matriarch of Interracial Marriage" and Other Groundbreaking Female Plaintiffs

by Jen Swedish, Health Law Fellow 
National Women’s Law Center

The recent death of Mildred Loving, hailed by the Associated Press as the “matriarch of interracial marriage,” struck me as a good opportunity to blog about women who have used the court system to challenge discrimination. Mrs. Loving, a black woman, and her husband, a white man, made history in 1967, when their lawsuit led the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Virginia’s ban on interracial marriage. 

Though certainly a trailblazer, Mrs. Loving was by no means the first woman to use the court system to fight discrimination. That distinction may belong to Myra Bradwell, who in 1873 challenged Illinois’s denial of her application to practice law because she was a woman. Unfortunately for Ms. Bradwell, however, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed with Illinois, and one justice who defended the ruling claimed that women’s “timidity and delicacy” rendered them unfit for work outside the home. 

Blech!  Thankfully, it’s 2008, and women like me are allowed to practice law despite our “delicacy.” Of course, many women still face discrimination solely based on our gender, including lower pay for the same work. Lilly Ledbetter is another amazing woman who attempted to use the court system to challenge discrimination. After learning that she had received lower pay than her male colleagues for over two decades, Ms. Ledbetter sued her former employer, but the Supreme Court ruled against her, saying that she hadn’t sued in time. Not one to give up, Ms. Ledbetter brought her challenge to the U.S. Congress – you’ve probably heard of the bill named after her, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which would reverse the Supreme Court’s decision. The House passed the bill last summer, but two weeks ago, the Senate couldn’t reach the 60 votes necessary to schedule a vote on the bill. Ms. Ledbetter’s fight is not yet over, however; tell your Senators that the bill deserves fair consideration on the Senate floor.

Ms. Ledbetter, Ms. Bradwell, and Mrs. Loving are just a few of the groundbreaking female plaintiffs whose courage to fight discrimination through the legal system we all benefit from!