Loving Day has come and gone. People all over the world (literally) have celebrated this special day. According to Portia Smith, writing for Caroline Crossroads; public events for Loving Day were scheduled to be held in NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, New Orleans, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Orlando, Tempe, Cambridge, MA; St. Petersburg, FL; Mt. Ranier, MD; Fulton, MO; Tokyo, Japan and of course the Loving Day cruise which departed out of Miami. While I am sure that this is not an exhaustive list, this makes me very excited!

I see the pictures and look into their eyes and I find myself wanting to know more about them. Who were Richard and Mildred Loving? What was their relationship like? What gave them the courage to refuse to take “no” for an answer and fight until they heard “yes”? I am not very good with unanswered questions, so I started digging.

As I was watching the videos and reading the articles, I quickly realized they were not in it for the fame or notoriety. In fact, they are quoted in a 1966 interview with Life magazine saying, “we are not doing it just because somebody had to do it and we wanted to be the ones. We are doing it for us”.

They had a love worth fighting for. So, they fought and their love won. Their love changed history. It wrote a smoother (notice I didn’t say smooth) story for all of us coming after them. While those of us in interracial relationships probably all have a story or two to tell, I am certain that none of us will ever tell of being arrested for being in love and getting married. (I hope!)

I was also deeply impacted by a quote from Steven Shapiro. Shapiro, national legal director for the ACLU stated “the law that threatened the Lovings with a year in jail was a vestige of a hateful, discriminatory past that could not stand in the face of the Lovings’ quiet dignity.” Seems I can learn another lesson from the Loving family; much can be said in silence and dignity of character.

Shy and soft-spoken, Loving shunned publicity. She allowed a rare interview with The Associated Press in June 2007 where she insisted that she never wanted to be a hero _ just a bride. “It wasn’t my doing,” Loving said. “It was God’s work.” God’s work is love, so I am inclined to believe her.

Now to me, Mildred and Richard Loving were regular people who wanted to live a normal life with their families. They quietly, yet resolutely stood for their right to love and live. They were loyal, true, and deeply committed to one another. They believed in love. They stood firm for love. They suffered for their love. And their love won and is still winning today. Nice legacy…..