Getting Excited About “Loving”

We are approaching Loving Day this year on June 12^th, which commemorates the 1967 United States Supreme Court decision between the Lovings vs Virginia, which struck down all US State Laws banning interracial marriage – mainly between non-whites and whites. This gives me more reason to get excited about “Loving,” an upcoming film, based on the Lovings, which releases in November. It premiered earlier this month at the Cannes Film Festival and I followed every minute of the seemingly worthy buzz about this daring, ground-breaking film.

The movie takes place in 1967, when Richard (played by Joel Edgerton) and Mildred (played by Ruth Negga) Loving wed in Washington, and returned to their native Virginia, only to be arrested. Their prison sentences were suspended on the condition that they leave the state for 25 years, a ruling they eventually defied. As the civil rights movement gained momentum, the A.C.L.U. took on their case, and in 1967 the Supreme Court ruled in their favor in Loving v. Virginia.It was directed by Jeff Nichols. Watch the mesmerizing clip below.

Loving Day

There’s a petition to make the day an official Federal Day over on Loving Org. It offers the following statistics:

• There are 22 million multiracial Americans (6.9% from Pew Research), comparable to the Asian American population (5.6%), and growing 3 times faster than the U.S. as a whole.
• There are 32 million interracial or interethnic married couple households (10% from the U.S. Census). Those numbers have grown 28% over a decade.

Despite those numbers, the site confirms that our nation has struggled with racial discrimination from all sides. We have been underrepresented in public policy, health care issues, media, and more. We can ask the federal government to lead the change by acknowledging us by honoring Loving v. Virginia, the 1967 Supreme Court decision that ended laws against multiracial families. Please join our community, government leaders, and organizations by celebrating its June 12th anniversary as Loving Day. Sign the petition here.

Preparing for “Loving”

If you are anxious to see the film, you can watch a documentary called “The Loving Story,” which uses real footage of the couple, which HBO broadcast in 2012. There was also a 1996 television drama, “Mr. and Mrs. Loving,” starring Timothy Hutton and Lela Rochon.