Seeds of Fire: A People’s Chronology

Recalling events that happened on this day in history.
Memories of struggle, resistance and persistence.

Compiled by Ulli Diemer

June 12, 1868
U.S. military forces intervene in Japan ‘to protect American interests.’ Related Topics: Intervention – Japan – U.S. Imperialism
June 12, 1963
Medgar Evers (1925-1963), a prominent civil rights activist in Mississippi, is murdered by a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Related Topics: Civil Rights Movement (U.S.) – Political Murders
June 12, 1964
South Africa’s apartheid regime sentences Nelson Mandela to life imprisonment. Already in jail since 1962, he remains imprisoned until 1990. Further Reading: CIA set up Mandela Related Topics: Apartheid – Legal Systems as Instruments of Oppression – Political Prisoners/Prisoners of Conscience
June 12, 1967
In the case of Loving vs. Virginia, the United States Supreme Court strikes down “anti-miscegenation” laws prohibiting interracial marriage. The case involves Mildred Loving, a black woman, and Richard Loving, a white man, who had been sentenced to a year in prison in Virginia for marrying each other. June 12 is now celebrated in the U.S. as “Loving Day”, an unofficial celebration of interracial marriages. In 1967, on the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling, Mildred Loving said that “I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry... I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard’s and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight, seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That’s what Loving, and loving, are all about.” Related Topics: Civil Rights Movement (U.S.) – Inter-Racial Relationships – Marriage