5 Ways to Celebrate National Loving Day This Year & Every Year

Happy National Loving Day! Let’s Celebrate!

 

 

 

Every year on June 12th, all around the world, families and friends join together to celebrate Loving Day – the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in support of interracial marriage.

 

Related: A Look at Loving Day -- A Celebration of Love & Interracial Marriage

 

Some couples celebrate this important holiday with weddings, engagements or engagement parties, vow renewals, and wedding anniversaries. Others honor the day with movie screenings, discussions on the history of racism and interracial marriage in the United States, educational panels and podcasts, or by attending community gatherings and potlucks. 

 

 

If you’re looking for a way to celebrate Loving Day this year, here are five ideas to help you get started. 

 

 

1. Watch Loving with friends and family

 

Host an in-person movie screening or plan a virtual watch party of Loving. This 2016 historical romance film follows the story of Mildred and Richard Loving, the couple that inspired the holiday, and whose 1967 U.S. Supreme Court case (Loving v Virginia) brought an end to state bans against interracial marriage.

 

 

 

Promotional image for Loving, 2016

 

2. Host a backyard barbecue or community potluck

 

Meet with others in your community to celebrate love, multiracial families, and interracial marriage! Ask friends and relatives to bring a special food dish or beverage, or order take-out from a local restaurant. Enjoy each other’s company with laughter, conversation, and personal stories in honor of the holiday. 

 

3. Attend a community event

 

Many cities and towns around the country host National Loving Day celebrations that are open to everyone to attend. You can find these gatherings listed in your local newspaper, announced on a local radio station, or posted on Facebook and other online community boards. You can also find annual events listed on the calendar at LovingDay.org. 

 

For example, this year, celebrations are scheduled to take place in Atlanta, Georgia (ATL’s 1st Annual Loving Day Celebration); Shelburne, Vermont (Loving Day Vermont); and Chicago, Illinois (National Loving Day! Daisy Heart). 

 

4. Plan a wedding or vow renewal

 

Loving Day weddings, vow renewals, and commitment ceremonies are incredibly romantic and a perfect way to honor the long road toward equality and recognition for interracial couples. 

These celebrations are as unique as the couples who plan them, and include a variety of unity rituals and cultural traditions. 

 

Just remember – if you want to get married on Loving Day, it’s important to find a wedding officiant early as this day books up fast! Or consider asking a friend or relative to get ordained to perform your ceremony. 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Donate to advocacy groups 

 

Donate time, money, or other resources to groups that educate and advocate for multiracial people and their families, such as The National Association for Multicultural Education, the American Anthropological Association, the MultiRacial Network (MRN), Project RACE, and many others. 

 

 

On Loving Day and every day, don’t shy away from conversations about race and racism in the U.S. and abroad, police brutality, and other current events and topics that directly impact interracial couples and their families. 

 

Although interracial marriage is legal in the U.S., many couples still face racial and intersectional discrimination when hiring wedding officiants, searching for wedding venues, and booking other vendors. 

 

Be an advocate!  Let couples know you support them and that you offer a safe place for them to celebrate their love. 

 

 

 

 

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You might also like: 

 

 

• Perez v. Sharp: The 1948 Win for Interracial Marriage that Changed Everything
   
• AMM Partners with Carbonfund for Carbon Neutrality and Healthy Communities in 2022

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