STATE of WISCONSIN
(Seal) Forward
Office of the Governor
Proclamation
WHEREAS, on June 12, 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the landmark case of Loving v. Virginia, unanimously struck down laws banning interracial marriage across the United States; and
WHEREAS, Mildred and Richard Loving, an interracial couple from Virginia, were married in 1958 in Washington D.C., only to be arrested five weeks later while at home for violating a Virginia law that prohibited interracial marriage, and as a result of that arrest, the Lovings were forced to leave the state for 25 years; and
WHEREAS, the Lovings did not give up and instead challenged that the law was a violation of the 14th Amendment, and their case was presented in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, which unanimously ruled in their favor, proclaiming “the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State”; and
WHEREAS, while the decision marked a significant step forward in the fight for civil rights and equality, the Lovings’ story reminds all Americans of the progress made and the work yet to be done to uphold the promise of equality, justice, and liberty for all; and
WHEREAS, as the state and nation reflect on its collective past and hard-won liberties, it is important to remember that the oppression, injustices, and inequities that interracial couples and people
of color have historically endured remain deeply entrenched in the nation’s culture and institutions to this day; and
WHEREAS, on this occasion, the state joins all Wisconsinites in denouncing hate and discrimination in all forms and recognizing that diversity makes the state stronger, all while reaffirming its commitment to building a Wisconsin that is safe, inclusive, and welcoming for all;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Tony Evers, Governor of the State of Wisconsin,
do hereby proclaim June 12, 2025, as
LOVING DAY
throughout the State of Wisconsin, and I commend this observance to all our state’s residents.
(Seal) GREAT SEAL OF THE STATE OF WISCONSIN
By the Governor:
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Wisconsin to be affixed. Done at the Capitol in the City of Madison this 9th day of June 2025.
(Signed) Tony Evers
Tony Evers
Governor
(Signed) Sarah Godlewski
Sarah Godlewski
Secretary of State
