A British woman fell in love with a black man at a time when interracial relationships were banned in Britain. She had to make the difficult decision to leave her family or follow her heart. Here is her story.
When Private Jake was in Trinidad as a member of the US forces sent by the Air Force to the UK for training in the 1940s, Britain’s Lady Mary was attending typing and shorthand courses at a technical school at the time.
The girls were delighted to discover that Jake and his army buddies could speak English when they called Mary and her friend over to talk. Jake started quoting Shakespeare to Mary, whom she adored, and they started talking.
A few weeks later they went on a picnic. When the woman saw Mary at the picnic and told her father about it, Mary was not allowed to see her father in motion.
After a few years, Jake returned to Trinidad to take a higher-paying job in Trinidad, but they still wrote letters.
Mary, who was only 19, agreed to marry Jake, but her father, who disapproved of her choice to marry a black man, later kicked her out of the house. Mary married Jake in 1948 and none of her family was there as she had little luggage.
THE FIRST YEAR OF MARRIAGE IS HARD
Mary was horrified to discover that society held interracial couples in the same disdain it showed them whenever they crossed the street.
The couple had trouble renting an apartment because no one wanted to house a black man in Birmingham, where they lived. Because of Jake’s inability to get a job, they had no money or friends. He recalled that:
Back then you couldn’t work in an office because it was believed that a black man wouldn’t be safe with all the white girls.
THEIR DEVELOPMENT
Fortunately, things got better for the resilient couple. Jake began working in a factory and eventually ended up at the post office, while Mary obtained teaching positions and eventually became a substitute teacher. They also started making new friends, but before inviting them into their homes, they let them know in advance that they were married to someone of a different race. Mary’s father died when she was 30; although they had come to terms with his departure before, he never agreed with her decision to marry Jake.
NOW WHERE ARE THEY?
Mary and Jake, who have been together for seven decades since 2018, said they consider themselves lucky to have found and married each other.
Jake admitted that the fact that society never fully accepted them still hurts him. He explained how one person once wiped his hands on his neck and remarked, “I wanted to see if the dirt would come off.” He then went on to discuss his struggle with racism.
The couple has been married for many years and continues to work on their union. For example, Jake does not prepare food when kosher guests are expected. Although there is no cure for Mary’s mild case of early-onset Alzheimer’s, doctors are doing what they can.
Unlike Jake and Mary, Howard Foster and Myra Clark, high school sweethearts, had to break up in 1967 due to racial animosity in the country at the time.
Foster decided to end things with his white girlfriend because he couldn’t let Clark suffer the difficulties that came with their type of relationship. However, 45 years later they reunited and married.
Their story is a reminder that love knows no boundaries and that true love can overcome even the greatest obstacles. It is a testament to the enduring power of love and the strength and resilience of the human spirit. Mary and Jake’s love story is an inspiration to us all and a reminder that love truly does conquer all.