Loving Day, a Day to Celebrate Mixed Love and Families

By Alex Temblador

Yesterday, June 12, 2016, was Loving Day, or unofficially at least. Loving Day is the unofficial holiday that celebrates the Supreme Court decision on June 12, 1967, Loving v. Virginia, which struck down the interracial marriage bans across the United States.

Loving v. Virginia didn’t just allow for couples of different races to marry, it inadvertently created a new type of family — a colorful family in the U.S. that wasn’t homogeneous in nature. The decision was impacting to many generations and groups throughout the U.S., especially to one Ken Tanabe, a mixed Japanese-Belgian man. He’s working to make the “unofficial” Loving Day an official, recognized holiday by the federal government. There’s a petition going around, asking the federal government to recognize multiracial families across the U.S. with an official Loving Day holiday. Click here to check it out.

The unofficial holiday of Loving Day has sparked the Mixed Remixed Festival in Los Angeles and parties and events in New York City. Other cities host film screenings and similar events.

In honor of Loving Day, we thank the Loving family for their courage to fight for the rights of mixed love and mixed families. Watch a clip below of the upcoming film, Loving v. Virginia that tells the story of the brave couple who changed history.