First of all, along with Finger on the Pulse, MeanRed Productions and Nicky Digital, we cannot even begin to thank the 600 people who came through the gates of BKLYNYard last night for some Hapa ‘cue. But we will in the next post. Because today is the anniversary of what many hapa and bi/multiracial Americans may not know is is the day that it became legal to wed interracially. It’s what our friend Ken Tanabe has called “Loving Day.” And without it, we may not have been born.
In 1958, Mildred and Richard Loving were arrested for being an interracial married couple (Mildred was of African and Native-American descent, while Richard was white). Their case was taken to the Supreme Court, and in 1967, the decision of Loving vs. Virginia effectively legalized interracial marriage. Since 2004, Ken has been spearheading the Loving Day Celebration parties as an opportunity for all multiracials to unite and further the dialogue on being bi- and multiracial. Obviously, the interracial ban was not so heavily enforced in other states as it was for the Lovings. But since this is the first Loving Day Celebration during the Obama administration — a dinner for the inauguration of which was really the catalyst for the Hapa Kitchen project in the first place — we’ll be at Solar One tomorrow, to celebrate. Hapa Kitchen Chris was there for the first event, in 2004, and Hapa Kitchen Akiko has been there for subsequent ones, including last year’s. We only imagine that the party grow each year in number. Come by if you can, and hope to see you there!