a mixed plate of Japanese American news and culture
Growing up multiethnic (a mixture of Japanese, Filipino and Spanish blood) on three continents (Asia, Europe and the U.S.) means that I feel at home in many environments; or rather, that different parts of me feel at home in different environments. It means that I am not 100 percent the child of any one country [...]
In 2009, Justice Keith Bardwell of Louisiana refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple. When a local newspaper asked the justice why he refused to marry the couple, he replied, “My main concern is for the children.” When asked the same question, “What would happen to the children,” Kip Fulbeck — filmmaker, [...]
On March 29, U.S. President Barack Obama sat down and filled out the U.S. federal census form for 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. He included his wife Michelle, daughters Sasha and Malia, and his mother-in-law Marian Robinson as members of his household. When he came to Question 9, which asks the person’s race, he filled in the [...]
In 2007, Hapa Issues Forum formally closed down. Founded in 1992 to provide a voice for multiracial Nikkei, the organization eventually expanded to serve a wider Asian American constituency, but languished into inactivity during its final years. In 2008, the Nichi Bei Times published its first special edition dedicated to multiracial and multiethnic topics. Although [...]
Lori Kunihara says that she owes a lot to the Japanese Community Youth Council (JCYC) and her involvement in the Japantown Youth Leaders (JYL) program. “JYL taught me the value of serving the community and really gave me a sense of belonging. I learned so much from the staff of JYL and being in the [...]
Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu is looking again toward Japan. A psychotherapist, writer and academic, Murphy-Shigematsu has lived in Palo Alto, Calif. the past eight years, teaching at Stanford University and running an independent multicultural consulting practice. Life in the Bay Area, he says, is easy for someone like him, the son of an Irish American man and [...]
It’s a strange feeling to be labeled as a “foreigner,” but that’s what I was. Foreigner. Waegook. In Korea, it’s the all-purpose term for someone not like them. We weren’t considered immigrants, international students, foreign workers or tourists. Or Americans, Europeans or Africans. Just foreigners, lumped together in an easy category. I don’t think we [...]
In the 24 years that I have been “Ali, short for Alicia,” I have secretly longed for a nickname of distinctive familiarity and endearment. Now, in this small provincial city tucked in the Sierra region of central Ecuador, I have been branded with the inescapable moniker of “China,” or sometimes the affectionate diminutive, “Chinita.” Disregard [...]
Fifth annual Florin Manzanar Pilgrimage A vital journey into understanding
A Pakistani American high school student from the city of Elk Grove, an adult education teacher from Berkeley, a World War II Military Intelligence Service veteran from Merced, a Nisei draft resister from Galt, and two peace activists from Davis. What could bring such a hodgepodge of people together? The Florin Manzanar Pilgrimage — a vital [...]