Loving v. Virginia, the case that made it legal for interracial couples to marry, was decided on June 12, 1967. Less than one year later, on June 10, 1968, my mom and dad were married.

This is the only photo of I have of my mother in her wedding dress. She sewed the dress by hand, partly because she likes to sew, but mostly because they didn't have wedding dress money.

I've had my mothers's wedding dress in my closet for years, but I'd never found a way to wear it with the respect and reverence it deserves. Until tonight, when I wore it to see Black Panther .

It seems appropriate to me that fabric pieced together by my mother's hands - that bore witness to the fall of the final pillar of legal segregation - should bear witness to this cultural moment as well. hostess gowns for wedding

Here's hoping that by sheer osmosis, this new shared mythology can - just maybe - help piece together a diaspora.