Loving was a touching that had me on the verge of tears multiple times. After watching the movie, I was curious to learn more about the real story of Mildred and Richard Loving. I was amazed the decision to make interracial marriage constitutional was only made in 1967.

As the Asian half of an interracial couple, this film resonated with me. Though the existence of overt racism in regards to interracial couples has become very, very, uncommon, in my experience, racism still exists in more subtle, perhaps unconscious ways. I’m from the midwest, where the population is friendly, conservative, and not high in minorities. I started dating my boyfriend over three years ago, the summer before my senior year of high school. But this almost didn’t happen. My boyfriend described a conversation he had with his dad before we started dating, when we were good friends. His dad asked him if we were dating, and my boyfriend responded by saying that I was Asian. His dad told him that wasn’t an issue. To this day, I wonder what would have happened if his dad responded differently. And I’m amazed my boyfriend even thought that. It has made me more aware of prejudices and assumptions that people have. On numerous occasions, people have been surprised to find out my boyfriend is not Asian. Little encounters like these show how we have lots more progress to go in regards to racism in dating and relationships. Mildred and Richard Loving were formative in tearing down racial boundaries, and I owe a lot to their perseverance, and love.