Love can enchant; it can charm and with the right person, feel divine.
So it was for high school sweethearts, Howard Andrew Foster and Myra Clark except that in 1960s America, it was illegal in many states for interracial pairs to love and marry.
Even when the Supreme Court case Loving vs. Virginia made an interracial marriage legal in 1967, it took too much work for a union between a melanated person and a Caucasian to flourish as they had to overcome the stares, the shunning of company, the badmouthing and the threat to life.
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The passion between Howard ‘the Black’ and Myra ‘the White burned for two years but in college, Howard faced unadulterated racism even from professors as the black person attending Columbus Technical Institute, now Columbus State Community College.
Thus, he saw the task of having Myra in the picture too daunting so ended the relationship to no longer expose her to scorn.
But the break up was tough. Myra recently recalled that after Howard explained why they couldn’t continue being lovers, they hugged and separated, both turning to take a final look, locking eyes and waving goodbye.
Howard moved on with his life, marrying and raising a family but Myra didn’t. A mutual associate would link the old love birds in 2013, which will reignite their love and set them on their true path.
As fate would have it, Myra worked at Mount Carmel Hospice, and there, she met a nurse whose daughter was married to Howard’s son.
On Labor Day weekend of 2013, the pair met at Sharon Woods Metro Park and realizing the sparks was still there, they fell right back into love.
On August 1, 2015, Howard and Myra married, 48 years later than they would, all other things being equal. Perhaps, it was possible to now marry despite the ethnic difference because 87% of Americans approved of interracial marriage in 2013, as opposed to 4% in 1958, according to Gallup.
Yet again, Howard and Myra’s love ordeal exposes America’s racist history and foul treatment of melanated people.
