If there’s one thing we can all agree on, politics aside, it’s that love transcends all. In celebration of Valentine’s Day, msnbc.com’s “Love is Love” series profiled a variety of couples and their stories in the week of February 14 to show that “love is love,” no matter your race, nationality, sexual orientation, disability or gender identity. Check out the couples featured in this project and read each of their incredible stories here.
W. Kamau Bell & Melissa Hudson Bell
W. Kamau Bell is a comedian who has become famous for his no-holds-barred approach to tackling race, politics, and social issues in his comedy. He also hosted the late night comedy show “Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell,” which aired on FX. Kamau has frequently spoken out about the role race and racism play in American society, entertainment, media, and politics. Here, he and his wife, Melissa Hudson Bell, talk to msnbc about race, love, interracial relationships, marriage, and raising a family.
Lennie Gerber and Pearl Berlin
Lennie Gerber and Pearl Berlin have been together for almost half a century. After the Defense of Marriage Act was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013, Lennie and Pearl were finally able to legally marry in the state of Maine – after being together more than 45 years. However, in their home state of North Carolina, same-sex marriage was still not recognized, so they fought to bring marriage equality to their home state. Same-sex marriage finally became legal in North Carolina in October 2014, after a judge found the state’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional.
Sulome Anderson and her boyfriend, Jeremy, became a viral sensation last year after a picture of them kissing went viral on the Internet. Why? Because Sulome is half-Lebanese and her boyfriend, Jeremy, is Orthodox Jewish. When they posted the photo of themselves kissing, they held a sign that read: “Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies.” The photo became a worldwide sensation at a time when tensions between Israel and Palestine were rapidly escalating. Though Sulome and Jeremy come from very different backgrounds, they prove that those differences don’t have to mean they are enemies. Scott Krepel & Laura Emerick Krepel When Scott and Laura met through an online dating site over four years ago, Laura learned that Scott was deaf shortly before their first date. But though there may have been a slight communication barrier in the beginning, it only strengthened their relationship — as Laura says, “Scott can’t hear, but he listens really well.” Four years later, they recently married and are currently on their honeymoon in Italy.
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