It’s not an official holiday, but for some of us it might as well be.

“Loving Day,” which is now celebrated each June, honors Richard and Mildred Loving, the Virginia couple who became the subjects of the historic U.S. Supreme Court case legalizing interracial marriages nationwide.

Richard was white; Mildred was black.  In 1958, they were convicted of violating a Virginia law that banned interracial marriage.  The trial judge ordered them to move out of the state, or face jail time. The Supreme Court later overturned their convictions, declaring such laws unconstitutional.  The ruling - issued on June 12, 1967 - struck down interracial marriage bans that were still on the books in more than a dozen other states at the time. 

I had heard about the case, poetically named Loving v. Virginia, for some time.  But it was just six years ago that I met the man behind “Loving Day.” His name is Ken Tanabe. We met in New York City when I interviewed him for the book I was writing on the multiracial experience in America.

“I’m part Japanese, part Belgian, which is what got me interested in the entire project,” Ken told me in 2005. 

The project he’s referring to is his website, LovingDay.org.

“I just couldn’t believe that something so important, something that seems pretty well folded into the civil rights movement, has received such a low amount of press,” he said, referring to the 1967 ruling. “It’s not really in the history books that I read.”

Inspired by the couple’s story, Ken began organizing social get-togethers every June 12th to celebrate the anniversary of the Loving decision. And he began encouraging others to do the same. His website not only provides information on the history of interracial marriage laws but also a how-to kit for throwing a Loving Day party.

“If enough people in our country decide to throw a little gathering on this day, before you know it, a lot of people are going to know about it, and a lot more people are going to be thinking about the freedoms that they have,” Ken said.

(More of my interview with Ken Tanabe is in my book, Fade: My Journeys in Multiracial America.)

Since first meeting Ken, his idea of throwing “a little gathering” on the anniversary date has really taken off. Now there are Loving Day events in cities across the country – some drawing hundreds of attendees.

In years past, I’ve attended two such events that I believe are particularly noteworthy: One is Ken’s flagship celebration in New York City, which has since moved from its original location because it was attracting so many people. The other is the two-day Mixed Roots Film and Literary Festival in Los Angeles. That event is organized by Heidi Durrow and Fanshen Cox, who also co-host a podcast known as “Mixed Chicks Chat.”

To find out if there’s a celebration taking place in your area, visit  LovingDay.org – and share the love this June!

 Elliott Lewis is a former television journalist, current law student, author and diversity speaker. Visit his website at www.lewisfreelance.com.