Loving Day celebrates interracial marriage

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I first learned about Loving Day a few years ago when my husband and I lived in Philadelphia. Loving Day is the annual celebration of the June 12, 1967 Supreme Court decision, Loving vs. Virginia, that made it illegal for states to enforce their bans on interracial marriage.

But even after that court decision, it took years for individual states to take these silly laws off their books, even though they were not able to enforce them. The last two states to remove these laws were South Carolina (1998) and Alabama (2000). An interesting side note stated on the Loving Day site: a Mason-Dixon poll four months before the vote showed that 22 percent of South Carolina voters were opposed to the removal of the laws. And this was just 11 years ago!

So I've always known about the court decision, but I was not aware of this organization that celebrates multiculturalism and educates people about racial prejudice. Every year, people all over the United States, and even in other countries, have parties celebrating Loving Day. Here are the celebrations happening in the Pacific Northwest:

Oregon

Salem World Beat Festival: This is a two-day festival that celebrates the traditions of people from all over the world that includes music, food, dance, performances and workshops. There will be an awareness booth for Loving Day at the Festival, which runs from June 27-28. Go to their site for more information.

Washington

Loving Day Mixer in Seattle: This takes place at the Amore Restaurant at 2301 5th Avenue on June 12 from 7-10 pm. Light hors d'oeuvres, full bar and giveaways. All ages are welcome. For more information go here.

There aren't any Portland celebrations as of this writing, but keep checking the Loving Day website for updates. If I hear of any, I will definitely post it here.

If you don't feel like the crowds and mega-socializing, you can have your own get-together and celebrate with family and friends. You'd be surprised at how many people don't have a clue what the Loving decision is, much less that there are celebrations of it annually. It's a great opportunity to educate people!