Martha Mae Ophelia Moon Tucker married the love of her life in 1952.
While nothing could stop their love from blossoming, there were people who tried to make them feel that their union was less important and unworthy of joy and celebration.
Tucker and her husband had a beautiful wedding despite separation rules at the time that banned Black people from engaging in society among Whites who wrongly believed they were greater or even different from their fellow people.
Tucker, on the other hand, had long fantasized about what it would have been like to wear a wedding dress. In 1950s Alabama, Jim Crow laws made it illegal for her and other women like her to enter a bridal store. Thankfully, segregation is no longer an option.
Jump in 70 years when Tucker and her granddaughter Angela Strozier were watching ‘Coming to America,’ one of the funniest films of all time, in which fast food manager Lisa McDowell departs America to become a princess on her royal wedding day in an amazing gown.
Tucker, who is 94 years old, said something to her granddaughter at that point. ‘I’ve wanted to try on a bridal gown for a long time.’ ‘When I got married, I didn’t have one,’ she admitted to Insider.
Strozier decided to fulfill her grandmother’s wish and scheduled an appearance for her at David’s Bridal so she could try on wedding gowns and select one.
‘That dress had my name on it when I stepped into the bridal boutique,’ she told People. ‘Oh, it was so lovely… ‘I was overjoyed.’
As lovely as the gown was, it was Tucker’s beauty that shone through at that time. Take a look at this image. She is really a lovely lady.
Her granddaughters claim that all of her beauty comes from the inside to out. ‘She’s overflowing with energy. She has more energy than I do at times. ‘To still have Mom here is a blessing,’ granddaughter Erica Tucker adds.
Tucker even got to try on a garter, and she looked very stunning. ‘I glanced in the mirror and couldn’t figure out who that was,’ Tucker told ABC. ‘Of course, I was delighted!’ ‘I felt fantastic!’ she exclaimed to ABC.
Tucker knew she not only felt fantastic, but she also looked good. Tucker’s family is planning a lavish celebration for her, and she’s even planning a trip to Hawaii.
Tucker didn’t purchase the dress, but she was thankful for the opportunity. Strozier said of her grandma, ‘She’s always made sacrifices to give from her heart.’
‘It was priceless to return a gift from my heart to her.’ 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 monitor in 1963.