| Loving Day | |
|---|---|
| Type | Secular, unofficial |
| Significance | Anniversary of Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia |
| Date | June 12 |
Loving Day is an annual celebration held on June 12, the anniversary of the 1967 United States Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia that struck down all anti-miscegenation laws remaining in sixteen U.S. states. [1] [2] [3] In the United States, anti-miscegenation laws were U.S. state laws banning mixed-race marriages. The Warren Court ruled unanimously in 1967 that these state laws were unconstitutional. [4] [5] Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote in the court majority opinion that "the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual, and cannot be infringed by the State." [4]
Loving Day is not an official national or state holiday in the United States, despite attempts to make it so. [6] [7] A writer for Time magazine in 2010 claimed that Loving Day was "the biggest multiracial celebration in the United States." [8]
According to the Pew Research Center, "In 2019, 11% of all married U.S. adults had a spouse who was a different race or ethnicity from them, up from 3% in 1967. Among newlyweds in 2019, roughly one-in-five (19%) were intermarried." [9]
According to a 2010 article in Time magazine: [10]
The idea for Loving Day came from one person, Ken Tanabe. In 2004, while a student at Parsons the New School for Design, Tanabe created Loving Day as part of his senior thesis. Growing up, he had never heard of the Lovings, and as a person of mixed-race heritage, he wanted that to change. He created a website to educate people about the history of mixed-race marriages and encouraged people to host their own Loving Day gatherings to create an annual tradition for the mixed-race community.
According to the official Loving Day website, the event was recognized by a resolution of the United States House of Representatives in 2007, by a proclamation of the Governor of Virginia in 2015, and by a resolution of the California State Assembly in 2017. [11] In 2024, the website listed 16 privately hosted events to mark the day, 11 in U.S. cities and towns, and five in European cities. [12]
Many organizations sponsor annual parties across the country. To celebrate the holiday, people are encouraged to hold parties in which the case and its modern-day legacy are discussed, in smaller settings such as living rooms, backyards, etc., as well as in larger gatherings.
Since 2013, [25] [26] Loving Day has been celebrated with an annual symposium at De Balie theater in Amsterdam, organized by the Stichting Loving Day foundation. [27]