Happy Loving Day!

I make fun of my husband sometimes. His silly antics and freak outs. His funny remarks and things he does that drive me nuts. But I love him. More than anyone. I'm so glad I met him and honestly, I don't feel like there is anyone else in the world who could be a better match for me.

Although we're a perfect match on the inside. If my husband and I had met just 44 years ago, in some states, because of how we look on the outside, it would have been illegal to get married. ILLEGAL. In 1967. That's nuts people.

This hatred was taken out on people like Mildred Jester and Richard Loving.

Source

Let me tell you a story you might not know. It's one I sadly didn't know until a beautiful reader brought it to my attention. I'm so glad she did.

Once upon a time, Mildred and Richard a couple from Virgina fell madly in love. In 1958 they decided to get married. But because she's black and he's white, they had to travel to Washington DC to be legally wed. When they returned to Virgina to start their lives together, they couldn't.--Because it was illegal for whites and non-whites to not only marry, but live together. They were hauled off to jail, sentenced to a year in prison, and exiled from Virginia. They couldn't even go back to visit their families.

Mildred wrote a letter in protest to then Attorney General, Robert F. Kennedy, who referred her to American Civil Liberties Union who helped them file a suit that eventually got brought up to the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Loving v. Virginia. Get this--The state's argument was that it wasn't discriminatory because they punished "both parties" (meaning Mildred and Richard) equally in their "crimes." The court dismissed that argument.

June 12th, 1967 they won their case. The anniversary is today, and now known to many as Loving Day. The organization was started by a fierce group of people who want the memory of the Lovings to live on. Their goals?:

• Create a common connection between multicultural communities, groups and individuals
• Build multicultural awareness, understanding, acceptance, and identity
• Educate the public about the history of interracial relationships in order to fight prejudice
• Establish a tradition of Loving Day celebrations as a means to achieve these

You can read more about it here, add them on facebook, and see if there are any Loving Day events near you.

Sadly there's nothing near me, or in Texas at all for that matter this year, but maybe I'll get something together for next year. Anyone near me want to join in?

I'm so grateful for this couple and that they made it possible for my husband and I, and others to marry who we fall in love with. No matter what race.

Happy Loving Day!

More reader posts on Loving Day:

Desu Mama
This Nest 
Kimberly Johnson
Weather Anchor Mama