National Loving Day

On June 12, join us in commemorating the anniversary of Loving v. Virginia, and in celebrating diverse families.

In June of 1967, Richard Perry Loving and his wife, Mildred Delores Jeter made United States history for being brave enough to love, and to marry one another. In order to have the freedom to be together and be married, the two of them had to take a civil rights battle all the way to the United States Supreme Court. 

You see, Richard was white, and his beloved wife, Delores, was black. And in segregated Virginia at that time, it was called miscegenation, which meant that it was illegal for people of different races to marry one another. No matter how deeply they were in love or wanted to be together. Local authorities in Virginia said that the Lovings’ marriage was illegal and invalid, and the couple was charged with a felony and sentenced to a year in prison! Just for wanting to be together. In order to avoid spending time in jail, they were told to leave Virginia and not come back for 25 years. 

Mildred reached out to Robert F. Kennedy, who was the attorney general at the time. She also reached out to the ACLU, the American Civil Liberties Union, who took the case to the Supreme Court. On June 12, 1967, the Supreme Court made a unanimous decision that marriage was a fundamental right.

Activities and Resources for Young Children and Families

Celebrate Family and Friends Turn Loving Day into a celebration of love and connections, family, friends and other important people. Gather with your household and make a delicious meal that celebrates your favorite foods and your family or community culture. Even if you might be far apart from your most special people right now, honor your love and affection for each other by connecting on the phone, or being together in a video chat. Here’s a Loving Day Celebration to inspire you.

Test and Expand Your Knowledge of Different Cultures with these fun quizzes for elementary and high school kids from ProProfs 

Hello ! Bonjour ! Salam ! Hola! 
Make connections by learning a new language. All you need is a library card. Visit the library’s online resource Mango Languages. Using your library card, you can access language learning courses including Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and Vietnamese as well as 17 English courses for speakers new to English.

Cook a recipe from another culture together. Try one of these recipes for a delicious way to learn about new cultures and customs (via RecipeLion).
 

Book Lists

• Celebrate Loving With Books About Diversity A booklist of BPL books celebrating diverse, loving families and communities
• BKLYN Bookmatch: Picture Books for Black Lives Matter Books to read aloud with young children
• BKLYN Bookmatch: A Black Lives Matter Reading List For Kids Stories for kids and teens
• BKLYN Bookmatch: A Black Lives Matter Reading List for Teens Books for older teens and adults

 

Resources for adults and older teens to learn about the case of Loving vs. Virginia. 

*Because some of the themes and primary source documents that are part of these resources can be intense, we recommend these for older teens and for adults. 

• Loving Vs. Virginia: A Documentary Novel of the Landmark Civil Rights Case by Patricia Hruby Powell. Also available as an e-audiobook
• “Loving vs Virginia, Part 1” from the Stuff You Missed In History Class podcast, hosted by Holly Frey and Tracy V. Wilson
• The Loving Story (2011) is a documentary about the case, and the events leading up to it. 
• Talking About Race: Resources for Early Childhood Educators This collection of books, curriculum ideas and other resources, compiled by BPL Early Childhood Coordinator Jessica Ralli, is a good starting point for parents and teachers of young children, to help guide age-appropriate discussions about race and diversity.