Loving The Loving's

Perhaps no other couple in U.S. history loved each other more publicly than Richard and Mildred Loving. Because of the Loving’s, the banning of interracial marriage in 16 states was finally overturned by the Supreme Court in 1967.

photo of Loving Day celebration by Michael Kirby

It’s unthinkable now, but up until then only whites were allowed to marry other whites in states like Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and Texas. And, there was actually a law on the books called the Racial Integrity Act of 1924.

Yet in Virginia, Richard and Mildred Loving—a white man and mixed black and Native American woman—were asleep in their bedroom when local police arrested them for being interracially married. The Loving’s had actually tied the knot in Washington, D.C. where their coupling was legally recognized, but upon returning to Virginia they were criminally charged.

photo of Loving Day celebration by Michael Kirby

Although my parents were also married at the same time as the Loving’s, anti-miscegenation laws hadn’t been enacted for them. No one in America really cared that a Japanese woman (former WWII enemy) cohabited with a Negro man (African slave lineage) since both were considered undesirable minorities anyway. Instead, anti-miscegenation laws were passed to perpetuate the myth of white supremacy by keeping white bloodlines pure through forbidding the mixing of it by marriage to non-whites. Despite the Supreme Court ruling in the case of the Loving’s, South Carolina still banned mixed marriages until 1998, and Alabama…2000!

photo of Ken Tanabe on the mic at Loving Day celebration
by Mauro Clerici

This week’s featured Hip Hapa Homee, Ken Tanabe, pictured above, is the founder of Loving Day in New York City. These photos are of the Loving Day celebration he organizes. 

Q: Ken, who are your parents and how did they meet?

A: My father is from Japan and my mother is from Belgium. They met while they were in college in Washington, D.C., through mutual friends and--bada boom, bada bing--here I am! I consider myself very lucky to be alive.

photo of Loving Day celebration by Mauro Clerici

Q: What inspired you to create Loving Day?

A: When I discovered the Supreme Court case, Loving v. Virginia, I felt like I had discovered a missing part of our Civil Rights education. Why wasn't this case taught in schools alongside Brown v. Board of Education, Dr. King and Rosa Parks? And with a name like "Loving", why wasn't this case as well known? Years later, the Loving case became the inspiration for my graduate thesis at Parsons the New School for Design in New York, and Loving Day was born. Today, Loving Day's mission is to fight racial prejudice through education and to build multicultural community.

Q: What are some of the events that your organization plans for that day—June 12?

A: We organize the Loving Day Flagship Celebration in New York City, which brings out 1,000 guests a year. We have free barbecue, free beer, amazing DJ's, and an incredibly diverse crowd--all under a big festival tent on the East River waterfront. Our goal is to show the world what Loving Day is about, and to inspire others to host a Loving Day Celebration of any size. Other organizations and individuals organize all of the other national/global Loving Day Celebrations. These include the Mixed Roots Film and Literary Celebration in Los Angeles, the annual MAVIN Foundation Loving Day Celebration in Seattle, and many more. Folks can find a complete list of celebrations and inspiration for their own celebrations at http://lovingday.org/celebrate

Q: Are there other things that your organization does besides the June 12 Loving Day celebration?

A: Yes! Loving Day is active all year. We are especially passionate about education, and we have been more active than ever with our collaborations with university groups. In the past six months or so, we have participated in the Harvard SWAYA Conference, a screening and discussion of the documentary One Big Hapa Family at Columbia, the Hapa Japan Conference at UC Berkeley, the Critical Mixed Race Studies Conference at DePaul in Chicago, a Biracial and Multiracial Student Association meeting at NYU, Clarvit Design Week at University of Maryland (College Park), and a Loving Day Celebration at Wesleyan. We also provide educational and community resources every day through LovingDay.org

Q: What are some of your future plans for this group?

A: We would like to see Loving Day become a new tradition that is shared among friends and passed down from generation to generation. We'd like to see a strong, sustainable multiethnic community that stays connected through Loving Day Celebrations. We encourage everyone to participate in Loving Day by celebrating and spreading the word!

Q: I met you at the recent Hapa Japan Conference in Berkeley. Do you have any thoughts you'd like to share?

A: The first Hapa Japan Conference felt like an historic moment. I had been in touch with many multiethnic community leaders with Japanese roots, but it couldn't compare to having everyone in the same space. To me, an entire conference that focuses on such a specific part of the multiethnic experience is an encouraging sign. I see it as evidence that the multiethnic community as a whole is growing and developing. My congratulations to the organizers for such an excellent conference. Also, thanks to enka superstar Jero for his performance!

Q: Do you foresee a time that there will not be a need for organizations that promote the multiethnic agenda?

A: Many people hope for (and work towards) a time when race will no longer be an issue. Even when that day comes, I believe there will still be a need for education--and people will feel the need for a sense of community with people who share a common experience. That's what Loving Day is about, and I hope that Loving Day will continue to grow and be shared for years to come.

Thank you, Ken; and, of course, thank you to the late Mr. and Mrs. Loving.

Hey, Hip Hapa Homeez--don’t forget to “like” our Watermelon Sushi and Hapa*Teez t-shirt Fan pages on Facebook. You can also request to join our Hip Hapa Homeez Group page where we’ve been discussing everything from Bruce Lee’s multi-ethnicity (did you know his mother was half white?) to mixed-race New Zealander’s Taika Waititi’s latest flick—Boy--about a Maori family. And, if you purchase one of our Hapa*Teez t-shirts at Cafe Press, you'll get a rear crawl credit on our Watermelon Sushi film. You might even look as good as Cassie, above. Oh, and you can tweet us, too: watermelonsushi

Until next time, Happy Loving Day! from...

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi

Visitors

I admit I'm a consummate hostess. Back in the day, my sister and I would entertain rooms full of folks in our tiny one-bedroom apartment near Seattle's Lake Union. Thinking back now, I wonder if our neighbors suspected us of dealing drugs or being prostitutes because of our many visitors--mostly men--who'd stop by for a drink (usually coffee or something stronger) and a chat. Sometimes, one of them would scoop us up for a couple of games at a nearby pool hall. Other times, we'd go check out a Bruce Lee or Blaxploitation flick. And, still other times, we'd cruise to Seward Park for a jam session with my sister playing her twelve-string guitar.

In any case, more than loving to entertain, my sister and I loved being entertained. Our friends ranged from a naive white guy from Florida named Paul, who also played guitar and would duet with my sister, to a brother named Donzell whose cousin Goat was often the butt of his jokes. Donzell drove a Brougham and would take us dancing at various nightclubs until we'd finally stop for breakfast at an all-night Chinese restaurant on Broadway. There was Femi from Nigeria, Allan from L.A., and Darryl from round the way--my sister's classmates from the University. Interestingly, none of these men were quote unquote boyfriends, but rather acted as substitutes for the brothers that we lacked. Of the ladies, I remember Mila, a Filipina whose children all had black fathers. My sister's friends, Linda and Tien, were Japanese American and Vietnamese, respectively, and also had black husbands. Although not that common in the 1970's, interracial coupling between Asian Americans and blacks did happen. During this time, Asians weren't acceptable for marriage by whites, and most of the Asians we knew were either with other Asians or with blacks.

Just sharing stories with our friends helped shape our views of the world back then. In those days, before the Internet and instant exchanges, my sister and I often met new people in public places and through other friends. Each one had a tale to tell, and that's how we learned. Today, I meet people through every method imaginable. But my friendships are still just as rich and rewarding as ever.

This weekend, while I stayed with my mother, two friends notified me that they'd be in town so I invited them over.

Albert, an educator originally from Ghana, was driving from Oregon to Washington on his way to fly to a seminar in Maine. Although we'd been friends for years, we'd never met face to face before. Unfortunately, Albert arrived just as the NHK taiga series, Atsuhime, began. As any of my regular readers know, I am totally addicted to this show. I could hardly peel my eyes away from the screen as I instructed Albert where to sit and hang his coat. With the dog frantically pawing his legs, and my mother firing questions at him about his personal life, it was all my guest could do to maintain. My eyes glued to the TV screen, I'd periodically turn to look over my shoulder at Albert and explain the scene at the Ooku with Atsuhime and her ladies-in-waiting during the countdown of the Satsuma overtaking Edo castle. My mom's husband, in his failed attempt to be sociable, commented on how homely the real Atsuhime was compared to the actress playing her. As we ate the square wontons filled with vegetables that my mother made, she needlessly explained to Albert that they contained no meat because of my vegan diet. Observing their efforts to communicate, I served as an interpreter throughout. My mother doesn't speak Twee and Albert speaks no Japanese although two of his cousins live in Japan where they both have Japanese wives.

Shortly after Albert left to continue his trip, Heisue arrived. This young student from Seoul currently attends school in Boston and has undertaken an intensive project about Korean warbrides. Upon entering their living room, she bowed towards my mother and her husband, and we were all charmed. Proclaiming herself to be "global", Heisue told me the reason she spoke English with an American accent was because of "Sesame Street". Sipping green tea, Heisue and I discussed the importance of her work. Some of the warbrides she interviewed had been abandoned by their American military husbands once they arrived stateside. Yet they survived. We talked about how life had been for their mixed-race children with the additional burden of not having their own fathers in their lives. And, I took Heisue on a journey from the time before I was born, to my mother's early childhood. Even though my stories helped Heisue piece together her project, I was the one who felt cleansed. The communication between Heisue and my mother was fairly clear and they each spoke a few words of the other's language. When my mother remembered a Korean song, she began singing it and Heisue joined in. I wish I would've had my camera as it was one of those moments in life never to be repeated. Heisue was stunned that my Japanese mother knew all the lyrics to this very traditional Korean love song, and so was I. Then, my mother trotted out a calendar she's had forever featuring Korean models on each page. Like the time last year when she broke out the homemade kimchee for a mixed-race Korean friend, my mother was seriously trying to connect. Maybe that's where my sister and I inherited our penchant for making and keeping friends.

Above is a photo of one of the very first visitors I can remember--a fellow soldier and friend of my dad's in Germany.

In friendship forever...

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi