Nationwide Celebrations, a Movie with Oscar Buzz, and a White House Petition Mark Nearly Five Decades of Legal Interracial Marriage

    NEW YORK, NY, June 06, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Loving Day Project is the world's largest network of multiracial celebrations. They commemorate the June 12th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia (1967), the Supreme Court decision that struck down laws against interracial marriage.

"Loving," a film about Richard and Mildred Loving, the real-life couple who inspired Loving Day, world-premiered on May 16th at the Cannes International Film Festival in France. The film is generating Oscar buzz ahead of its U.S. release this November.

The Loving Day Project is calling on President Obama to recognize Loving Day as a federal observance. A White House petition was launched on May 31st with the goal of 100,000 signatures within 30 days. https://wh.gov/isdTY

An ad tweeted by Old Navy generated a racist backlash for featuring an interracial family. This generated national press and a reaction from Jack McCain, son of Arizona Senator John McCain (May 2, 2016). A 2014 Super Bowl commercial for Cheerios received a similar reception.

11% of Americans still do not approve of interracial marriages (Gallup 2013). 10% of all U.S. married couple households (32M) are interracial or interethnic (U.S. Census 2010). 6.9% of adult Americans (22M) are multiracial, comparable to the Asian American population at 5.6% (Pew Research 2015).

Thousands will participate in Loving Day Celebrations on or around June 12th in cities worldwide. They range from family gatherings to large public festivals like the Loving Day Flagship Celebration in New York (1,000 guests) and the Mixed Remixed Festival in LA. Celebrations are also planned for 16 other cities including DC, Philadelphia, Birmingham, New Orleans, Amsterdam, and Lyon, France. Additional events are expected on http://www.lovingday.org.

About the Loving Day Project

Created in 2004, Loving Day's mission is to fight racial prejudice through education and to build multiethnic community. Our vision is to create an annual tradition that will make the Loving case a universally recognized civil rights landmark.

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