In August 1970, Berta Linson, a 24-year-old Black student at Jackson State College, and Roger Mills, a 24-year-old white law clerk for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, made history as Mississippi’s first legally married interracial couple.This milestone came three years after the Supreme Court's landmark Loving v.Virginia decision, which invalidated anti-miscegenation laws nationwide, but Mississippi had initially refused to comply.After being denied a marriage license in Hinds County, the couple quickly filed a federal lawsuit.Despite facing Judge Harold Cox, known for his segregationist stance, the Supreme Court’s precedent forced him to order the issuance of the license.

The couple married on August 2, 1970, at Central United Methodist Church in Jackson, with roughly 200 attendees, some armed for protection due to potential threats of violence.Media coverage was intense, and Berta later expressed her discomfort with the public attention.

The marriage marked a significant civil rights milestone in the South, effectively ending practical enforcement of Mississippi's ban on interracial unions.The couple later moved to Washington, D.C., where Roger completed law school, and they had two daughters.One daughter, Demetria Mills, carried forward the family legacy by advocating for LGBTQ+ marriage equality.Although Berta and Roger divorced after 18 years of marriage, their union remains an important symbol of civil rights progress in America.