Loving Day is the anniversary of a historic court decision for interracial marriage. Every year on June 12th, it’s a global day of visibility, education, and community.

A landmark case

The “Loving” in Loving Day is actually the last name of Mildred and Richard Loving. The Loving Day Story begins when they were arrested for being married in 1958 because they were an interracial couple living in Virginia.

Their case, Loving v. Virginia (1967), reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Their lawyers argued that laws against interracial marriage came from slavery laws, intended to oppress Black people, and based on white supremacy. Other states had similar laws. Some of these laws applied to people of other races as well.

Nine years after their arrest, the Lovings won their case on June 12th, 1967 (which is why Loving Day is on June 12th). It was more than a victory for their family. It struck down all state laws against interracial marriage in the U.S.

The Lovings’ memorable story (and fitting name) are part of a larger and continuing struggle for racial justice. Courtroom history led up to their case. Attitudes and demographics shape our society.

U.S. Legal Map

For centuries, laws against interracial marriage and relationships (known as “anti-miscegenation laws”) punished couples with arrest, imprisonment, fines, refusing to issue marriage licenses, and declaring such marriages to be “null and void.”

These laws were intended to support white supremacy. They all banned relationships between white and Black people. Some of them also banned relationships between white people and other racial groups.

Restrictions on relationships between two non-white people were rare but did exist. For example, it was illegal for a person of the “Indian race of America” and “the colored or black race” to live together in Louisiana. In Oklahoma, “any person of African descent” could not legally marry “any person not of African descent.”

Please explore these images that represent key moments from 1947 to 1967. For more information explaining the data that is used in the Legal Maps below, click here.

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