Gorgeous New York » Activists http://www.gorgeousnewyork.com everybody is somebody Wed, 27 Apr 2011 02:20:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 Ken Tanabe http://www.gorgeousnewyork.com/people/ken-tanabe/ http://www.gorgeousnewyork.com/people/ken-tanabe/#comments Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:03:29 +0000 Joshua C. Harris http://www.gorgeousnewyork.com/?p=267 Loving v. Virginia —on June 12, 1967. The ruling removed all state laws barring interracial marriage.]]> tenabe_ken2-copy

Feel the Love

Ken Tanabe’s lovingday.org celebrates the spirit of perseverance and promotes multicultural awareness.
by Christian Ghigliotty

The sun loves Ken Tanabe. Or maybe it’s the other way around. “Man I have to say it feels so good to be out here right now. I’ve got my Vitamin D for the week, “ he says and flashes a toothy grin afterward. Ken pushes out his chest and the LovingDay logo gleams brightly , like it’s where he holds all his power. “The logo has a heart surrounded by a shield. The shield represents law, protection. The inner part, the heart, represents love and the Loving decision.”  The multi talented designer of Belgian-Japanese descent has flexed his creative muscle throughout the design industry in a variety of roles. As founder of lovingday.org, however, he now plays a much more pivotal role that transcends his industry niche—that of educator.

In 1959 the Virginia Circuit Court found Richard and Mildred Loving guilty of violating a state ban against interracial marriages. The couple was sentenced to one year in jail, which was lifted under the proviso that the two leave the state and not return for a period twenty-five years. The Lovings left their home and families in Virginia and moved to Washington D.C. where they were able to live together legally but were subject to racial taunting and limited opportunities. Nonetheless the Lovings endured and were vindicated by a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision—the case is known as Loving v. Virginia —on June 12, 1967. The ruling removed all state laws barring interracial marriage.

Ken Tanabe knows this. Now he wants you to know this.

Video Interview

“We want to fight prejudice through education, especially against multiethnic couples and individuals and build a sense of community…through people that embrace the idea of multiculturalism.”

Lovingday.org is a rich repository for information that reinforces Tanabe’s educational vision. The site has become, in part, a soundboard for interracial couples to tell their stories, either in print, images or video. Moreover, since its inception in 2004—the same year Tanabe graduated from Parsons School of Design—over a dozen events in nine different states have brought together thousands of people of different ethnicities, establishing human connections and providing common ground for all people. The two biggest events Loving Day has spawned are the annual flagship celebrations in New York City and The Mixed Roots Film and Literary Festival in Los Angeles, both of which have garnered huge amounts interest and success.

Despite the actual June 12 celebration happening once year, the mission is to celebrate Loving Day everyday in some small way. The movement continues to grow in a grass-roots fashion, as people host their own events after attending one of Ken’s organized functions, which is also something the site encourages people to do. It also has helped to create a platform where awareness becomes the stimulus for enlightenment.

“If you could compare all the places you could start something like Loving Day, New York is one of the best places to do it. It such a crossroads of the world…”

Photo Shoot

]]> http://www.gorgeousnewyork.com/people/ken-tanabe/feed/ 0 AJ Acevedo http://www.gorgeousnewyork.com/people/aj-acevedo/ http://www.gorgeousnewyork.com/people/aj-acevedo/#comments Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:27:08 +0000 admin http://www.gorgeousnewyork.com/?p=13 AJ Acevedo - Flightlutions

Aerial Assault!

AJ Acevedo, founder of Flightlutions, takes to the skies armed with an RC helicopter and a camera to fulfill a dream deferred.
By Christian Ghigliotty

“I found the perfect spot,” AJ says into receiver which is pushed into Josh’s ear. Click. Corner of Old Fulton Street and Water Street , the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. On a blustery afternoon, against the New York City skyline, AJ wants to showcase his RC Copter.

On the corner there is a nondescript white van, the two rear doors open like a book rested on its spine. Inside AJ and his partner Wyatt are crouched near what looks like a very expensive Erector set. The inside of the van is carpeted in burgundy with boxes of tools, soda bottles, sheet rock, wires and hard metal cases strewn about haphazardly. It looks like they’re getting ready to rob a bank instead of fly a fifteen-thousand dollar helicopter.

I close in on the van, and ask no one in particular, “What happens if the cops show up? Can we still do this?” Wyatt is off to the side of the van talking with someone, and the someone is wearing a trucker cap and a smirk. Wyatt hears my question and says, “Hey kid, here’s a quarter, call someone who cares…Do you know where that’s from?” I smile and say no I don’t. Wyatt shakes his head and returns to the van where AJ is trying to steady a camera into a mount. When I turn around to take in the Promenade, a patrol car pulls up across the street from the van.

AJ Acevedo Video Interview


AJ Acevedo is the founder of Flightlutions , an aerial video and photography solution company based out of Brooklyn. The name Flightlutions is a hybrid between the words flight and solutions, which he thinks helps to set himself apart from others in this industry who provide just the two types of services. AJ stresses solutions when talking about his company. “We offer more than just aerial video and photography services, we offer aerial video and photography solutions. So if you can think of it we’ll put our heads together and figure out a solution for ya.” The name also has gotten him ribbed a bit from people when they first hear it. “Yeah, I get beef about the name all the time.”

As a young boy it was apparent to AJ that his love for flight would take him to places that people on terra firma dream about. In his adolescence he had recurring dreams of flying for years. No, not a helicopter or plane, just little AJ soaring over the verdure of a pastoral backdrop. As an adult he entered flight school, logging over one-hundred hours of flying time in a helicopter. When the money ran out AJ left without completing his certification, but the itch for flying never fizzled out. In preparation for Flightlutions AJ first logged over one-thousand hours using a virtual flight simulator to recreate the flying environment he would eventually inherit when using a RC helicopter. His intent after learning how to fly a RC helicopter was to mount a camera to it, merging another love, photography, with his first one.

AJ and Wyatt each take an end of the RC helicopter and lug it back through Empire-Fulton Ferry park , which is connected to Brooklyn Bridge Park. While the helicopter was being readied under increased winds in front of the Promenade, Wyatt sauntered over to the patrol. Wyatt, with his tattooed forearms and handle bar mustache tries to sweet talk the officers into letting us fly the helicopter over the Promenade. After a ten minute conversation we clear out and make our way to the park. AJ looks concerned, like this isn’t going to happen. When we enter Empire-Fulton Ferry park we are stopped by three park officers who squint at us suspiciously. Wyatt steps to speak with one of them and they tell us that we can’t fly without a permit technically. They say we need to go to the Brooklyn Bridge Park and fly near the water and try not to kill anyone. As we pull away from the three park officers, Wyatt mumbles “I think that guy busted me for drinking in this park like ten years ago.”

“You guys gotta back up,” AJ says, donning sunglasses and a smile. The helicopter is assembled, gassed up and ready to fly. Wyatt sticks what looks like dynamite taped to a drill and jams it into the top of the helicopter and starts the propeller. AJ holds the remote control and the knobs glisten as he flicks them when the helicopter is in flight. Wyatt pivots the camera at the control station just behind us. AJ is calm as he is zipping the helicopter through the air, and just like in his dreams as a kid, little AJ is flying.

Photo Shoot

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