Richard and Mildred Loving and their family having fun, despite their years-long battle to stay married as an interracial couple.
This time last year, I was quietly crying with my husband. No, they were not tears of joy because it was Loving Day, the day when the U.S. Supreme Court decided love knows no color and interracial marriage bans ended forever.
Instead, I was in tears because we had just endured the worst mass shooting in American history, realizing the painful irony that even though Loving v. Virginia set the precedent for same-sex marriage legalization in the United States, it wasn’t being celebrated by everyone.
Instead, someone showed their malicious and murderous hate on that day. More than likely, the attacker didn’t know about this day. The case of Mildred and Richard Loving fighting to stay married is still being brought into the limelight with movies like last year’s Loving.
It’s Pride Month, which should have been a happy coincidence. Now with the 50th anniversary, there’s bittersweet memories instead of joy and celebration. There will always be a black mark on that day.
Across Orlando and across the world, there are people in mourning, others in solemn remembrance. It’s my hope that one day we channel our collective grief into joy. Though we have such a long way to go, we have still come very far.
Those precious victims died having fun. I hope they’d want us to celebrate, too.
No matter what happens, I’ll continue to celebrate Loving Day in Alabama (which will sadly always include a moment of silence for the Orlando victims) even though Alabama didn’t remove their anti-miscegenation laws until the turn of the 21st century.
No matter what happens, I’ll remember that without the Lovings, I could not have married the man who filled a hole in my life I didn’t even realize I was missing.
There are Loving Day celebrations around the world this week. Even if you aren’t affected by the Loving v. Virginia decision, remember this is also a day to celebrate same-sex marriage. Stop by an event and celebrate. Come to an event to remember those we lost.