Ken Tanabe
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…”
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