Dear Friends,

For the past half-century, I have been honored to be able to write books, articles, and reviews, and to conduct oral history interviews relative to the Japanese American historical experience and its legacy, with a special focus on how the Nikkei community has resisted its oppression to unjust actions taken against it by governmental and non-governmental policies and practices.

This undertaking has been greatly facilitated by the work of many Japanese American institutions, but the most prominent among them by far is the Nichi Bei Foundation.

A number of years ago, I was moved to express my profound appreciation to the Nichi Bei Foundation in a letter I composed and mailed to its founding president and editor-in-chief of the Nichi Bei News, Kenji G. Taguma. In this missive, I wrote as follows:

“The work done by the Nichi Bei Foundation, not only through its stalwart newspaper, but also through the enlightened and dedicated sponsorship of a dizzying array of activities, renders it arguably the extant Nikkei institution that makes the single greatest contribution to the maintenance and enrichment of the Japanese American community.”

Since I wrote these words, the Nichi Bei Foundation has doubled and perhaps even tripled its gift of time, energy, and devotion to this cause, not merely through such signature events as film and book festivals, but also by extending its geographical reach to areas outside of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Today, we are facing unprecedented attempts at the erasure of the community’s history. This makes the collective work of the Nichi Bei to document our history and validate our experience all the more important.

Coming a year after the 15th anniversary of the Nichi Bei Foundation, my fondest hope is that you will consider donating to the 2025 Nichi Bei Day of Giving campaign, which both needs and merits your support to keep its invaluable work going strong in the future.

Sincerely,
Arthur A. Hansen
Director Emeritus, Japanese American Oral History Program at California State University, Fullerton;
Advisory Council member,
Nichi Bei Foundation

To contribute to the Nichi Bei Day of Giving campaign on or before Sept. 17, please visit HERE.