Marriage between two people of different races was illegal in the United States until 1967. We invite the entire Temple community to join us for a Shabbat celebrating Loving Day, named for the interracial couple who fought for the right to marry (Loving v. Virginia). With our Temple's history of civil rights and racial equality, we will celebrate the fifty-eight years of legal interracial marriages and reflect on how much has changed, as well as the challenges some couples still face.

Private Dinner
After the service, we invite all those who are in interracial marriages, multiracial families, and/or identify as Jews of color to a dinner together at a private home. Location provided after registration. Please reach out to Rabbi Lydia Medwin (lmedwin@the-temple.org) or Abby Vankudre (abbyvankudre@gmail.com) with questions. This event is co-sponsored by the Leven Jewish Identity Institute and the Mosaic Committee. 

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On June 12, 1967, Mildred and Richard Loving won the landmark Supreme Court case, Loving v. Virginia, which legalized interracial marriages nationwide, and we celebrate Loving Day on June 12 each year in its honor. But in 1971, John and Betty Sanford were denied a marriage license in Georgia and successfully demanded that the U.S. Justice Department intervene, and they soon became our state's first interracial couple. In 2021, Gallup found that 94% of Americans approve of interracial marriages, up from just 4% when they first introduced the question in 1958.