#MyLovingDay

I believe this photo of our family on mine and my husband’s wedding day speaks for itself — this family is because of Loving Day, and simply because of love. My father, a black man from Detroit and my mother, a white, Jewish woman from the San Fernando Valley met and fell in love in Los Angeles in the 1970s. Every day, I am forever grateful for the love my Nana and Papa had for their own daughter that allowed them to love and respect the man she chose to marry. It afforded me a childhood filled with the symbols of our blended cultures, and also the privilege of being unbound by stereotype or hate.

As a married adult, I have even more gratitude for the love of my in-laws, whose open hearts and minds have welcomed me into their family and traditions without question. I am now a frequent participant in their Iowa home town’s Dutch festival parade — decked out in full Dutch Costume and a sense of belonging.