THE LOVING PROJECT

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Episode 17: Steve and Christine Jul 31, 2017

Show notes

Christine and Steve with their son, Zevi

Christine is black, and grew up in Glassboro, NJ; while Steve is white and was raised in Philadelphia, PA. They met in Philadelphia in the 1960’s against the backdrop of the civil rights and Black Power movements. They made their home in the city’s Powelton Village neighborhood, which had a strong counterculture community. Later the couple moved to New York City, where they felt more acceptance as an interracial couple.

They eventually returned to Philadelphia, where they raised their son while running an alternative bookshop on Philadelphia’s bohemian South Street. In this episode of the Loving Project podcast Steve and Christine share what it was like to be in an interracial relationship at such a pivotal and tumultuous time in the history of American race relations and reflect on the how far society has (or hasn’t) progressed since then.

Episode 16: Lesley and Cord Jul 17, 2017

Show notes

Lesley and Cord

Lesley and Cord met while Lesley was working at Duke University and Cord was a graduate student at the school. In their very first conversation, Lesley impressed Cord with her critique of his favorite medieval author, St. Augustine, even though they had very different impressions of him. Despite their differences, the two became friends, and eventually began dating while both graduate students at Duke.

Lesley grew up in North Carolina while Cord was raised in New Jersey and Philadelphia. They got married in 2009 and live in Philadelphia with their three year-old daughter. In this episode of the Loving Project, Cord and Lesley discuss the impact of the 2016 election, the intersection of African-American and Southern culture, and their intentional approach to parenting a biracial child

You can also read the essay Lesley wrote for WHYY here.

Episode 15: Eric and David Jul 03, 2017

Show notes

David and Eric

Eric and David married nearly 5 decades after the Supreme Court decision that legalized interracial marriage, but just a year after another Court ruling that made same-sex marriages like theirs legal across the United States.

Eric is black, and grew up in a black neighborhood in Baltimore. David is white and grew up in a small town in Oregon; the couple met in Philadelphia.

In this episode of the Loving Project, Eric and David talk about faith, falling in love, and coming to terms with the role race plays in their relationship with each other, with the world, and with the child they hope to raise together one day.

Episode 14: Mike and Kim Jun 19, 2017

Show notes

Mike and Kim met while working in a research lab at the University of Pennsylvania. At the time, Mike was a senior, while Kim had recently finished her PhD and was working as a postdoctoral researcher while raising her 10-year-old son.They bonded over music and eventually got married in 2015, about a decade after they first met.

Mike is the son of Taiwanese immigrants, who grew up in an agricultural area of Maryland, while Kim hails from Southern New Jersey. In this episode of the Loving Project, they discuss food, culture, stereotypes, and the serendipitous circumstances that brought them together.

Episode 13: Loving Day Special Jun 12, 2017

Show notes

50 years ago today, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Loving v. Virginia. That decision rendered all state laws banning interracial marriage unconstitutional and made it legal for individuals of different races to marry all across the USA.

Instead of telling one couple’s story, in this episode we hear from eight different couples about their thoughts on the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision. The following couples are included in the episode:

Episode 12: Florence and Ed Jun 05, 2017

Show notes

Florence and Ed in 2011

Florence and Ed met in the 1960’s in Nashville while they were in college – Ed at Vanderbilt and Florence at Fisk University. They began dating after getting to know each other as co-facilitators for the Upward Bound program and got married in 1968, just over a year after the Loving v. Virginia decision. They have two adult sons and a granddaughter.

In this episode of the Loving Project podcast, Florence and Ed share what it was like to date as an interracial couple in Tennessee in the 1960’s, how they handled objections from family members, and their concerns about having biracial children at a time when they had no models of multiracial families to look to. They also reflect on the 50th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia, the court decision that enabled them to marry in Florence’s home state of North Carolina and made marriages like theirs legal nationwide.

Episode 11: Michelle and Melissa May 22, 2017

Show notes

Michelle and Melissa at their wedding

Michelle and Melissa met in college and were together for 12 years before getting married in 2017. Although they are both Philadelphia natives, they hail from very different parts of the city.

Melissa, who is white, grew up in Bridesburg, a neighborhood with a reputation for racism, while Michelle, who is Black, hails from Mount Airy, an area well known for diversity and inclusion. The reactions of their families to their relationship mirrors those of their communities – Michelle’s family welcomed Melissa with open arms but Melissa’s relationships with some extended family members are strained due to their attitudes towards Michelle.

In this episode of the Loving Project podcast, Melissa and Michelle discuss how the current political climate impacted their decision to get married and what its like to navigate the world as both an interracial and a same-sex couple.

Episode 10: Lori and Manuel May 08, 2017

Show notes

Lori and Manuel with their children

Lori and Manuel have been married since 1999. Manuel is white and grew up in Spain. Lori is black and grew up in Wisconsin. They met at university in Spain, where Lori was studying abroad; eventually Manuel joined her in the United States where they lived first in New York and then in Philadelphia.

In this episode of the Loving Project podcast, Lori and Manuel talk about what it’s like to raise biracial, bilingual children who are equally at home both in the US and in Spain. They also share their own experiences coming to terms with being part of an interracial marriage.

As one of a tiny number of Black students in her Wisconsin high school Lori dreamed of going to Spain, a place where she believe she would feel less “different”. Once there, Lori realized that in Spain she stood out just as much as she did in her home country.

However, in Manuel she found someone who had no preconceptions about her and was genuinely open to and interested in people from different cultures. Although he had seen racial discrimination – primarily directed at gypsies – while he was growing up, when he moved to the USA, Manuel was surprised to learn firsthand about some of the racism that Black Americans faced on a daily basis.

The family now lives in Philadelphia’s Mount Airy neighborhood with their three children. Lori is an author who has written about colorism and her experience becoming part of a multiracial family.

Episode 9: Aarati and Jonathan Apr 24, 2017

Show notes

Aarati and Jonathan

Aarati and Jonathan got married in 2006. Jonathan is White and Jewish and Aarati is Indian-American. They met in Chicago, where Aarati was pursuing her PhD and Jonathan was working as a journalist. They later moved to Washington DC, and then Philadelphia.

Born and raised in New Hampshire, Jonathan was unfamiliar with the daily realities of racism in the United States before he met and married Aarati and became the parent to two biracial children. Whereas Aarati, who was born in India and grew up in mixed race communities in Delaware describes herself as a “race straddler”. Currently, they both work in the arena of racial and social justice.

In this episode of the Loving Project podcast, they discuss the joys of sharing both their cultures with their children and of watching them develop their own racial identities.

Episode 8: Anastasia and Symeon Apr 10, 2017

Show notes

Anastasia and Symeon

Anastasia and Symeon met online while they were working at the same university. They got married in 2011 and live in Philadelphia with their two young sons. Symeon’s family is from Philadelphia, but he grew up in rural New York state, while Anastasia grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

In the episode, they discuss the things they have in common, such as a love of travel, close relationships with their families, and a history of being “the kid with the weird name”. They also reflect on the ways their backgrounds sometimes lead them to view the world differently, how they find common ground, and what it’s like to raise biracial children in a racialized world.

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