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The story behind the "Loving Day Flagship Celebration Event"

Posted by James, 31 May

This year around the 12th of June marks the 13th anniversary of Loving Day Flagship Celebrations; an event which began as a graduate thesis project for “Ken Tanabe, a graphic designer, who accidentally discovered the Loving case while Googling something else”. Being multicultural and of an interracial/international heritage, he really took interest in the Loving case and this is how it all began.

People have been celebrating Loving Day since the website was launched in July 2004 and the celebrations have evolved into a global network of celebrations. Hosted in New York City the event is celebrated every year around or on the 12th of June.

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The people behind the Loving Day are Mildred Jeter (Black) and Richard Loving (White); an interracial couple who got married in 1958 in Washington, D.C. because they couldn’t get married in their state of Virginia. During this time, the state if Virginia had outlawed interracial marriage and relationships.

They underwent persecution by the Virginia state - They were arrested, convicted of a breaking the law against miscegenation and sentenced to a year in jail and banished from Virginia. But the Lovings were courageous and committed to their love and civil rights so they fought this law. Their civil rights case “Loving v Virginia” finally got to be heard at the Supreme Court and the infamous ruling laid the foundation for the right interracial marriage.

This year, a film “Loving” based on this true interracial love drama is set to be released in November and already the first press screening done at Cannes was a great success; eliciting awards-season talks. The Loving couple is played by Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton.

To celebrate the 13th Loving Day Flagship Celebrations, Interracial Dating Central is one of the proud sponsors. During the celebrations, people get the opportunity “to learn history's lessons while envisioning ways to improve the future” by promoting multiculturalism, tolerance and awareness as a way to fighting racial prejudice. The event will be held on SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 3-7 PM, AT SOLAR 1 (RAIN DAY: SUNDAY JUNE 12, 3-7 PM) .