Jake and Mary Jacobs marked their 70th anniversary of a happy marriage last year, but their journey wasn’t simple.
Mary, who is White, and Jake, who is Black, lived in the same city in 1940s Britain. At that time, there weren’t many Black men there.

Even though Mary’s father told her to leave, Mary chose love over easy choices.

When I told my father I was going to marry Jake, he said, ‘If you marry that man, you will never set foot in this house again.’”

Mary and Jake first met at a technical college where Mary was learning typing and shorthand, and Jake was undergoing Air Force training. They met during the war when Jake moved from Trinidad to Britain.

Jake and Mary Jacobs marked their 70th anniversary of a happy marriage last year, but their journey wasn’t simple.

Mary, who is White, and Jake, who is Black, lived in the same city in 1940s Britain. At that time, there weren’t many Black men there.

Even though Mary’s father told her to leave, Mary chose love over easy choices.