The Washington Times
  • Subscribe
  • Times News Services
  • RSS
  • Mobile Headlines
  • e-edition
  • E-MAIL ALERTS
  • REGISTER
  • LOG IN
  • E-MAIL ALERTS
  • WELCOME
  • Your Profile
  • Log Out
  • Front Page Image
  • Classifieds
  • Autos
  • Real Estate
  • Jobs
  • Special Sections
  • Customer Service
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Sports
    • NFL
    • NBA/WNBA
    • MLB
    • NHL
    • Tennis
    • Golf
    • Motorsports
    • Soccer
    • NCAA
    • Olympics
    • Outdoors
    • Other
  • Culture
    • Home & Living
    • Family & Kids
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Washington Visitors
    • Books
    • Military History
    • Life
    • Auto
    • TV Listings
    • Movie Listings
    • Death Notices
    • Entertainment
  • Themes
  • Communities
  • Marketplace
    • Autos
    • Jobs
    • Real Estate
    • Classifieds
    • Shopping
    • Dining Out
    • Education
    • TWT Store
  • Videos
    • Two Guys
    • Birnbaum on Washington
    • Liz Glover
    • Amanda Carpenter
    • Morning Briefing
    • Documentaries
    • Joe Giganti
    • Video Game Minute
  • Podcasts
    • About Headlines
    • Audio and Radio
    • America's Morning News
  • National

    HOLMES: Miscalculating engagement

  • National

    NORRIS: The Senate and the START treaty

  • National

    Obama: U.S. 'forever grateful' to veterans

  • Business

    Employers offer pet health care as perk

  • World

    Jordanian sees Jerusalem as a powder keg

  • World

    Report finds dirty money, water in China

  • Politics

    Silicon Valley produces laptops and politicians

Monday, May 21, 2007

Love trumped law for couple married 40 years

Rate this story

Average 0.00
after 0 votes
Login or register to rate this story

  • Font Size -+
  • Print
  • Email
  • Comment
  • Tweet this!
  • Share
  • Article
  • Comments ()
  • Click-2-Listen
  • Videos

More Stories

  • Swift wins entertainer of year award
  • TWT reporter recounts sniper's last moments
  • Obama wants Afghan war exit plan clarified
  • Dobbs leaves CNN before contract ends

By

BALTIMORE (AP) -- He was of Samoan ancestry; she was a white girl from Locust Point. They fell in love in the Hawaiian Room in the Emerson Hotel in Baltimore in 1963.

The racial difference seemed acceptable, even romantic, to them. Meki To'alepai was a dancer in a Polynesian troupe. At a performance, JoAnn Kovacs was seated in the audience until, seduced by the music and encouraged by friends, she started dancing herself, catching his eye.

But when the time came to get married, "we were turned away," she told the Baltimore Sun.

That failed attempt to wed in Maryland led to national publicity and a campaign to end the state's miscegenation law, which banned most forms of interracial marriage. This spring marks the 40th anniversary of its repeal.

That change was made too slowly to suit Meki and JoAnn To'alepai. They exchanged vows in 1966 in the District, where it was legal for white women to marry so-called "brown" men. The newlyweds left for California.

Forty years of marriage followed, and the subject of race has rarely surfaced. The To'alepais think of themselves as entertainers, not civil rights warriors. They are back in Baltimore's Locust Point neighborhood, where they returned not long after the law changed.

"We never really talked about it, never really even told our children," Mrs. To'alepai said.

Said Mr. To'alepai: "We were too busy being happy to be angry."

They spent much of their marriage running their Pacific Island performance company called Meki's Tamure, or "Meki's Fun Group." It tours schools and social halls, doing the Fijian dwarf dance, the New Zealand Poi ball dance and the Tahitian Hokule'a Ote'a.

When the To'alepais met, Hawaii had been a state for only a few years and Pacific culture was fashionable. People conducted luaus, and several tiki-themed clubs opened in downtown Baltimore, where they featured Hawaiian revue performances.

12Next »

Post a comment

There are comments on this article, submit your opinion!

Commenting is disabled for this entry.
If you feel there is still something worth mentioning about this entry please contact the author or the site admin.

Ask a Question

You Report

Do you have another point of view, photos, audio, video or more information about a story?

Top Stories

Most Read

  1. KELLNER: New Apple mouse really is 'Magic'
  2. EXCLUSIVE: Warner: Obama misplayed health care debate
  3. D.C. sniper executed in Virginia
  4. Airport rules changed after Ron Paul aide detained
  5. PRUDEN: Fatal reluctance to see evil
More Top Stories »
  1. Families meet as sniper's execution nears
  2. Michigan farm expert opens Marijuana U.
  3. DeMint tries to ban 'permanent politicians'
  4. High court refuses to halt sniper execution
  5. Kennedy's disability plan could snag health bill

Most Shared

  1. KELLNER: New Apple mouse really is 'Magic'
  2. Michigan farm expert opens Marijuana U.
  3. EDITORIAL: End Clinton-era military base gun ban
  4. PRUDEN: Fatal reluctance to see evil
  5. Airport rules changed after Ron Paul aide detained
More Top Stories »
  1. DeMint tries to ban 'permanent politicians'
  2. Kennedy's disability plan could snag health bill
  3. D.C. sniper executed in Virginia
  4. EXCLUSIVE: Warner: Obama misplayed health care debate
  5. Peace Corps' popularity jumps

Most Commented

  1. PRUDEN: Fatal reluctance to see evil
  2. DeMint tries to ban 'permanent politicians'
  3. Obama: 'No faith justifies' Fort Hood attack
  4. 'Fuzzy math' could drive health bill cost higher
  5. Kennedy's disability plan could snag health bill
More Top Stories »
  1. D.C. sniper executed in Virginia
  2. EXCLUSIVE: GOPer Cao: Health vote may end career
  3. Airport rules changed after Ron Paul aide detained
  4. Defense nominee won't reveal potential conflicts
  5. Michigan farm expert opens Marijuana U.

Listen to Washington Times Radio

  • America's Morning News

    with John McCaslin and Melanie Morgan

Blogs & Columns

  • POTUS Notes

    New Dem talking point on Obama approval doesn't wash

  • The Back Story

    12 arrested at Pelosi's office

  • Belief Blog

    New Vatican constitution released

  • Out of Context

    Foods that might kill libido

  • Technology

    Facebook wins round against phishing spammer

  • On the Fly

    United lifts some 'award' blocking

  • Redskins 360

    Veterans visit Redskins

  • Tara's Two Cents

    On their way to summer vacation..

  • SNOBlog

    Beyond 'Woody'

Videos

Advertising Links
TWT Store
  • e-edition
  • Print Edition
  • Weekly Washington Times
TWT Affiliates
  • Middle East Times
  • Golf
  • UPI
  • Arbor Ballroom
  • Washington Times Global
  • About TWT
  • Press Room
  • F.A.Q.
  • Work for TWT
  • Advertise
  • Sponsors
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site Map

All site contents © Copyright 2009 The Washington Times, LLC.