Because of the color of her skin, she was denied entry to the bridal boutique when she married in 1952.
Although times have changed, it wasn’t long ago that the color of your skin determined where you could be and who you could be with.
Martha Mae Ophelia Moon Tucker married the man of her dreams in 1952. While nothing could stop the love these two shared from becoming a reality, there were those who tried to make them feel like their union was inferior and unworthy of joy and celebration.
Tucker and her husband had a happy wedding despite segregation laws at the time that prevented Black people from participating in society among Whites who falsely believed they were better or even different from their fellow human beings.
Tucker had always wondered what it would have been like to wear a wedding gown on her wedding day.
Jim Crow laws in 1950s Alabama barred her and other women like her from entering a bridal shop. Fortunately, segregation has been abolished.
Fast forward 70 years to when Tucker and her granddaughter Angela Strozier were watching one of the funniest movies of all time, “Coming to America,” in which fast food manager Lisa McDowell leaves America to become a princess on her royal wedding day in an incredible ballgown.
That’s when Tucker, 94, whispered something to her granddaughter.
“I’ve always wanted to try on a wedding dress. I didn’t have one when I married,” she told Insider.
Strozier decided to fulfill her grandmother’s wish and scheduled an appointment at David’s Bridal for grandma to try on wedding gowns and choose one.
Tucker knew she’d found “the one” the moment she saw him.
“When I went into the bridal shop, that dress had my name on it,” she told People. “Oh, it was so beautiful…I was in heaven.”
As lovely as the gown was, it was Tucker’s beauty that shone through at that moment. Take a look at this image. She is a lovely lady.
Her granddaughters claim that all of her beauty comes from within.
“She’s so full of life. Sometimes she has more energy than me. It’s just a blessing to still have her here,” granddaughter Erica Tucker says.
Tucker even got to try on a garter, and she was having a great time.
“I looked in the mirror at myself wanting to know who that is,” Tucker explained to the ABC. “Yeah, I was very excited! I felt great! ” she told ABC.
Tucker knew she looked good as well as she felt good. Tucker’s family is planning a proper reception for her, and she is even planning a trip to Hawaii.
Tucker didn’t end up purchasing the dress, but she was grateful for the experience.
“She’s always made sacrifices to give from her heart,” Strozier said, speaking of her grandmother. “So to return a gift from my heart to her was priceless.”
Tucker, who has four children, 11 grandchildren, and 19 great-grandchildren, worked with Birmingham’s civil rights leaders as a civil rights activist and poll watcher in 1963.
“She has always been the one to just made those types of sacrifices to make people know their rights,” said Strozier.
Now she is receiving the love she gave to others.
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