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From the Archives: Loving Day 💖




    In addition to Pride, Loving Day marks a historic turning point in the right to love freely in the United States. On June 12th, 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously voted to decree anti-miscegenetion laws (bans against interracial marriage) as unconstitutional. The case of Loving v. Virginia centered around Mildred and Richard Loving, a mixed-Black/ Native-American woman and a white man, both of whom were arrested in Virginia for their marriage. Because their marriage was considered a crime punishable by imprisonment, they fled for Washington and sought legal assistance through the ACLU. Their courageous legal battle affirmed that marriage is a fundamental right, regardless of race. Loving Day, while not yet a federal holiday, honors their legacy, and brings representation for the continued hardship of interracial couples and their descendants.


    Interracial couples and their children experience social and cultural challenges rooted in systemic racism and biases, including beliefs that “racial mixing” is wrong. Microaggressions towards multiracial people can be commonplace, taking the form of fetishization and objectification, alongside increased scrutiny and unfair assumptions. Mixed-race folks often struggle with identity development, feeling prone to rejection, and as though they don’t fully belong to any one group. This can lead to the need to perform and code-switch. Research shows that multiracial adults are more likely to have a mental health disorder, such as anxiety (perfectionism), depression, and substance abuse. A specific challenge to interracial families is that parents have differing racial identities than that of their kids, and so are not always equipped to provide guidance with the unique problems their children can face. In March 2025, the new MARC method of census research was announced, with concerns that it will erase the identity of millions of mixed-race people by re-identifying them with a single race identifier. This showcases the need for greater dialogue surrounding mixed and interracial issues, and breeding environments where multiculturalism is genuinely, and not performatively, celebrated.

    Loving Day - Community Project

    Bill of Rights for People of Mixed Heritage - By Dr. Maria Primitiva Paz Root

    Critical Mixed Race Studies - Journal, Conference, & Community

    Mixed in America - Community Organization


    Wishing you all a lovely Loving Day as we celebrate cross-cultural and cross-racial love, as well as uplift the experiences of multiracial folks!


    In liberation,


    Aute Porter, LMFT

    CA: #153925, HI: #MFT-1022-0


    (she/her/'ona)

    Director of Diversity, SBCAMFT

    diversitydirector@sbcamft.org

    @themaohitherapist

    Located on the unceded lands of the Chumash-Barbareño people.



    From the Archives: Happy Pride! 🌈

      Updated: 3 days ago


      Pride honors the LGBTQIA+ community — folks who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, and Ace/ Asexual. The + includes identities not listed in this acronym, such as third gender identities from cultures outside of the Western context. Examples are the hijra (India), muxe (Zapotec people of Oaxaca), and fa'afafine (Sāmoa). Some third gender identities, like the baklâ (Philippines), and māhū (Polynesia), played sacred spiritual, healing, and leadership roles in their pre-colonial societies. In 1990, the term two-spirit was used to describe third gender identities for peoples indigenous to Turtle Island (North America), such as the wínkte of the Lakota, the nádleehi of the Navajo, and the ‘aqi of the Chumash.



      Image is of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera at the 1989 Pride March in New York.
      Image is of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera at the 1989 Pride March in New York.

      Here in the United States, Pride often correlates with the month of June in recognition of the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion, a pivotal moment in the fight for gay rights, and the culmination of years of LGBTQIA+ activism. On June 28th, 1969, a police raid took place at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City's Greenwich Village, sparking resistance led by figures such as Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, two trans women of color. The uprising that followed led to the first Pride marches on June 28th, 1970 in NYC, LA, and Chicago, and to the formation of gay rights organizations. This eventually paved a path for greater acceptance to live and love freely, reflected through important changes in legal rights, such as the decriminalization of homosexuality, and the nation-wide right for same-sex marriage in June of 2015.


      While our country has progressed, homophobia and transphobia are still persistent sources of harm. LGBTQIA+ individuals face unique mental health challenges due to stigma, discrimination, and social exclusion, leading to higher rates of anxiety, depression, substance use, and suicidal ideation. QPOC (queer people of color) may also experience racism, leading to even greater disparities. Access to affirming mental health care is crucial, yet many people in the queer community can encounter limited resources and provider bias. Early last year, executive orders were put into place to withhold federal funding for gender-affirming care for minors, as well as bans and prohibitions for transgender individuals in the military, and trans women in sports. Click here for the ACLU's map of attacks on legislature protecting LGBTQ+ rights in 2026, and here for an Anti-Trans Bills Tracker.

      Pride Month serves as a vibrant celebration of identity, authenticity, love, diversity, reclamation, and resistance. It’s also a reminder of the ongoing struggle for equality and justice for all members of the LGBTQIA+ community.


      Local Resources


      Lisa’s Place - Center for Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Folks

      Bialogue Santa Barbara - Weekly Meetings for Bi+ Folks

      PFLAG Santa Barbara - For Family Members of LGBTQIA+ Folks

      Planned Parenthood IN-clued - Workshops for Inclusive Care for LGBTQ+ Youth

      SB Unitas -  Calendar of Events and LGBTQIA+ Community Groups

      SpeakOUT at CCEC (Community Counseling and Education Center)



      June is also Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month, Black Music Month, National Caribbean American Heritage Month, and Men's Health Month, alongside these dates:


      • June 5 – World Environment Day

      • June 14 – Race Unity Day

      • June 12 – Loving Day

      • June 12 – World Day Against Child Labor

      • June 16 – Muharram Islamic New Year (Islamic)

      • June 19 – Juneteenth

      • June 20 – World Refugee Day

      • June 21 – Litha, Summer Solstice (Pagan)

      • June 21 – National Indigenous Peoples Day (Canada)

      • June 28 – Pride Day (LGBTQ+)



      In liberation,


      Aute Porter, LMFT

      CA: #153925, HI: #MFT-1022-0


      (she/her/'ona)

      Director of Diversity, SBCAMFT

      diversitydirector@sbcamft.org

      @themaohitherapist

      Located on the unceded lands of the Chumash-Barbareño people.




      From the Archives: Happy AANHPI Heritage Month!

        This May, we're revisiting Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, exploring notable history, challenges, and important intersections of AANHPI identity 🌸🌏🌺


        Art is by artist and illustrator, Casielle Santos-Gaerlan, @casielle.jpg on Instagram.
        Art is by artist and illustrator, Casielle Santos-Gaerlan, @casielle.jpg on Instagram.

        ‘Ia ora na te mau hoa! 

         

        This translates to “Hello to my friends” in reo Tahiti (Tahitian).  

        The month of May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month! I am sharing with you bits and pieces of what I shared this time of year in 2025, with some new additions.


        The History of AANHPI Month


        Asian Pacific American Heritage Week, eventually becoming AANHPI month, came to be thanks to the advocacy of former Capitol Hill staffer, Jennie Jew, who was particularly motivated by her great-grandfather’s legacy. Her great-grandfather helped build the transcontinental railroad after immigrating to the U.S. from China, and was tragically killed during a period of anti-Asian rhetoric following the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The term “AAPI,” combining Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, became established in the 1980s as a strategy to empower both groups given similar values and experiences, such as shared histories of colonialism. The term was reinforced when the U.S. census used AAPI as a racial category in the 90’s. 


        In 2021, President Biden specifically separated Native Hawaiians from Pacific Islanders to recognize them as an indigenous group whose land was/is colonized by the U.S. As stated by the non-profit Hawaiian Diaspora, “The explicit naming of Native Hawaiians [is] because of Hawaiʻi's specific and fraught political history with the United States: the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, forced annexation, and the ongoing movement for Hawaiian sovereignty.” Check out their guide “Beneath the Surface” on AANHPI month here.


        An unfortunate side-effect of pairing these groups together is that many AANHPI specific-events do not always account for Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander representation, which only exacerbates a felt-sense of invisibility and neglect that Pacific Islanders already experience. Additionally, many feel that this umbrella designation flattens the immense diversity that exists within the Asian and Pacific Islander diasporas.


        Asian Americans and the Model Minority Myth


        Photo is of protests following the one year anniversary of the Atlanta shootings in 2021. Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images.
        Photo is of protests following the one year anniversary of the Atlanta shootings in 2021. Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images.

        Asian Americans include populations of people from:


        • East Asia: China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan

        • Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

        • South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka

        • Southeast Asia: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam


        From exclusionary policies like the Geary Act, to the forced incarceration of Japanese Americans, to the racially motivated murder of Vincent Chin in 1982, Asian Americans have faced a long history of systemic racism and anti-Asian violence in the U.S. More recently, hate crimes and discrimination against Asian Americans rose due to the racialized rhetoric of COVID-19, with figures such as President Trump calling it the “China virus.” Asian American women have historically been hypersexualized, harkening back to the Page Act of 1875, which unapologetically excluded East Asian women from the country because of stereotypes that they were sex workers. South Asians specifically can be the recipients of “terrorist” accusations due to Islamophobia. Historically, U.S. military interventions in countries such as Vietnam, Korea, Japan, and the Philippines have contributed to war, displacement, and forced migration, shaping the trajectories of many Asian refugees and immigrants. Today, 1 in 7 Asian immigrants are undocumented, many of whom live in California, making them vulnerable to ICE kidnappings. As is clear, harms against Asian Americans have taken multiple forms. These events and experiences are not isolated, but reflect a recurring pattern of exclusion and racialization that continues to shape safety, belonging, and mental health for Asian Americans today.


        The “model minority myth” refers to the stereotype that Asian Americans are uniformly successful, hardworking, and academically or economically high-achieving, often framed in contrast to other marginalized groups. While it may appear positive on the surface, this narrative is deeply harmful for many reasons, as it simultaneously upholds white supremacist culture values, perpetuates anti-Blackness, and obscures the vast diversity within Asian American communities. This includes differences in migration histories, SES, and access to resources, erasing the experiences of groups who face significant hardship, such as refugees or under-resourced Southeast Asian communities.This myth also promotes immense pressure to perform well, reducing those that fall short as insufficient or less than. This pressure can have real ramifications, especially in cases where folks experience a reluctance to share their distress, as seen in the rise of suicidal ideation and suicide attempt rates of Asian students in college. This myth also paradoxically endorses the “exotification” of Asians in the U.S. as “perpetual foreigners." Challenging this myth is essential to creating space for more honest, nuanced, and compassionate understandings of Asian American experiences and mental health.


        Asian Americans may not always pursue mental health support within a Western context for a number of reasons, such as stigma around mental health, as well not wanting to be “perceived as crazy” by close others, risking shame on their families. Finding culturally-competent and native language specific mental health is also a barrier. As a result of being immigrants and descendants of immigrants, Asian-Americans may experience a sense of being “in-between” two cultures, which may create a sense of not belonging in either one. Navigating diasporic spaces within their communities may conjure feelings of imposter syndrome. Asian culture leans towards being quite collectivistic, with a common thread being the duty and honor of caring for your elders, widely known by the Confucian virtue of filial piety. Filial piety can be a wonderful pillar for family life, strengthening bonds and relationships, developing humility and respect, and emphasizing the transmission of knowledge cross-generationally, but it can also have drawbacks, such as in situations of abuse or control.


        Traditional healing practices throughout Asia, such as yoga, Ayurveda, and acupuncture, are commonly implemented within wellness methodologies here in the U.S. This includes Buddhist meditation and mindfulness frequently used in psychotherapy. These practices then become commercialized, glamorized, and a derivative of their original purpose, sometimes without properly acknowledging the people and contexts they stem from. To avoid continued appropriation and exploitation, we can hold curiosity for the creators of these methods, study the settings and purposes in which they were used, and most importantly, give them credit for the wisdom they have given us.


        The Kingdom of Hawai’i and the Displacement of Kānaka


        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVqCnIVdBPM
        Video is of documentary "Dear Aloha," exploring the impact of displacement on Kānaka Māoli.

        Kānaka Maoli (the name for Native Hawaiians in ‘Ōlelo Hawai’i) have been deeply shaped by the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in which American and European businessmen, backed by U.S. military forces, deposed Queen Liliʻuokalani, and imprisoned her to house arrest. This coup was driven by economic interest, particularly the profits of sugar production, and led to the eventual annexation of Hawaii by the U.S. in 1898, despite strong opposition from Kānaka. The theft of Hawaiian land has disrupted traditional systems of stewardship and the right to self-govern, alongside cultural suppression. Thankfully, many Kānaka activists, scholars, and community leaders, such as Haunani Kay-Trask and Jamaica Osario, have and continue to advocate for land back, language revitalization, and protecting sacred sites, showcasing resilience in the fight for ea (sovereignty).

        Hawai’i is commonly thought of as the ultimate island paradise, and as an accessible escape for Americans looking for an idyllic tropical vacation. In recent years, an influx of outside buyers purchasing properties for vacation rentals or part-time residences (such as for retirement) have contributed to housing scarcity for locals. Today, there are more Kānaka on the mainland of the U.S. than on the Hawaiian islands: the result of displacement from their native lands due to tourism, the high cost of living, a lack of resources, and a lack of employment opportunities. If not displaced, some Kānaka may experience homelessness, forming encampments. Some Native Hawaiians have never visited their native lands, in contrast to the 9.7 million who visit Hawai’i each year. As folks plan their summer vacations, it might be worth reconsidering travel to Hawai’i, and at the very least, reflecting on the impact your visit may have on Kānaka Māoli.


        Te Moana Nui a Hiva: Pacific Islanders


        Pacific Islanders, or Pasifika, are geographically identified by three separate groups, with many of these island nations known in the Western world through colonially given names, as our peoples were colonized by the U.S. (territories American Sāmoa, Guam, and North Mariana Islands), England, France, Spain, Germany, and Australia. It’s worth noting that many Pasifika do not necessarily uphold these categorizations because of how innately connected our people are to one another given our tūpuna’s (ancestors) paths of migration.


        • Polynesia: Aotearoa (New Zealand), Sāmoa, American Sāmoa, Tonga, Hawai’i, Kuki Airani (Cook Islands), Mā’ohi Nui (French Polynesia), Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Niue, Tuvalu, Tokelau, 'Uvea e Futuna (Wallis and Futuna), Rotuma, Pitcairn Islands

        • Melanesia: Viti (Fiji), Kanaky (New Caledonia), Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu

        • Micronesia: Chuuk, Yap, Kosrae, Pohnpei (Federated States of Micronesia), Belau (Palau), Kiribas (Kiribati), Naoero (Nauru), Aolepān Aorōkin M̧ajeļ (Marshall Islands), Guåhan (Guam), Islas Mariånas (North Mariana Islands)


        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAnglqVz9wQ
        Video is a compilation showcasing traditional song, dance, music, and dress from numerous Pacific nations taken at the Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture (FestPAC) 2024 in Hawai'i.

        With a history of being skilled navigators, the Pacific region is traditionally defined by the ocean, being called iterations of the phrase “Te Moana Nui a Hiva” or “Moana-nui-akea,” both translate to “the great ocean that connects us.” Connection to the land is paramount for Pacific people, and despite contributing the least to environmental global emissions, we face some of the most severe consequences of climate change, including rising sea levels, environmental degradation, and threats to land and livelihood. Nuclear imperialism has also ravaged islands such as Bikini atoll in Aolepān Aorōkin M̧ajeļ (Marshall Islands), as well as Moruroa and Faungataufa in Mā’ohi Nui (French Polynesia). The impact of nuclear fallout to our islands has been immense, including soil and oceans contaminated by radioactivty, and severe consequences on health, such as birth defects and rising cancer rates. Learn more about nuclear colonialism from Moruroa e tatou here.


        Economic disparities from a history of usurped resources and a lack of generational wealth affect many Pacific Islanders, leading to high rates of domestic violence, alcoholism and addiction, suicide, and severe mental illness. A common theme for this population is not only land loss, but cultural loss, losing important traditions and languages at the hands of colonization, impacting identity formation. Pacific Islanders are not exempt from experiencing racism, though here in the U.S., like indigenous peoples, are invisibilized. 


        A recent study called CAPIWAVES, conducted by UC researchers, collected information from Southern California NHPI residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results showed that 1 in 3 participants reported struggling with their mental health within the last year, while 3 in 4 reported never seeking professional help for their mental health. Reasons for delaying care included cost, not knowing how to find a mental health provider, and like Asian-Americans, fears of being “found out” from family and friends. This comprehensive study highlights the unmet needs for the NHPI population, alongside the lack of culturally-specific mental health care and resources. Learn more about this study here.


        AANHPI Resources


        May is also Mental Health Awareness Month, Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month, Older Americans Month, Haitian Heritage Month, Indian Heritage Month, and Jewish-American Month. Other culturally significant dates in May:

         

        • May 1 – Visakha Puja Day (Buddhism)/ Lei Day

        • May 1 – Beltane (Wicca/Paganism)

        • May 5 – Samhain - (Southern Hemisphere) Wicca/Paganism

        • May 5 – Cinco de Mayo

        • May 17 – International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia

        • May 18 – Victoria Day (Canada)

        • May 21 – World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development

        • May 21-23 – Shavuot (Jewish)

        • May 23 – Declaration of the Bab (Baha'i)

        • May 24 – Pentecost (Orthodox Christian)

        • May 25 – Memorial Day

        In liberation,


        Aute Porter, LMFT

        CA: #153925, HI: #MFT-1022-0

        (she/her/'ona)

        Director of Diversity, SBCAMFT

        diversitydirector@sbcamft.org

        @themaohitherapist

        Located on the unceded lands of the Chumash-Barbareño people.



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