Photo: Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Derek Jeter and Jordin Sparks. (Getty Images)
If Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Derek Jeter and Jordin Sparks all found themselves together in one room, they'd have some commonalities to discuss. Besides being smart, talented, powerful and gorgeous, the stars are also all interracial. And this Sunday (June 12), Loving Day, the nation (and maybe Mariah?) will celebrate marriages that cross racial lines.
Long before the fight for gay marriage made headlines, interracial couples battled for the right to wed. Up until the '60s, numerous state laws banned "whites" from marrying "nonwhites," causing many interracial lovers to hide their relationship from family, friends and most important, the government. In the famous (and aptly titled) court case of 1967, Loving vs. Virginia, interracial couple Richard and Mildred Loving got the Supreme Court to allow citizens to marry across racial lines, quite literally changing the face of America forever.
Photo: Loving Day coverage in the Washington Post.
From 1980 to 2008, the incidence of interracial marriage soared from 6.8 percent to 14.6 percent of all those wed. And young people have been a force in the rise, with 85 percent surveyed supportive of mixed couples and interracial relationships.
This Sunday is the 44th anniversary of Loving Day, and mixed race families and friends across the country will be celebrating the notion of love without restrictions, racial or otherwise. New York City will see a BBQ, DJ set and dance party along the East River, while across the country StoryCorps will set up shop in the Jewish Museum of San Francisco, allowing people to record their stories on a multiracial world. For the full list of events taking place, and for more on how far we've come racially, check out LovingDay.org.
actTAKE ACTION!
Loving Day
Find a Loving Day celebration in your area.
