BERKELEY, Calif. — Eastwind Books of Berkeley spent its last day as a brick and mortar bookstore, April 14, like any other day, with owner Harvey Dong laughing among regulars, students rifling through wooden bookshelves, and community members coming together to organize. For the past 27 years, Harvey and his wife Beatrice have been running […]
ACC Senior Services celebrates 50 years in Sacramento
October 27, 2022 by Leave a Comment
With the formation of Asian American identity during the 1960s student movements, Sacramento’s Asian communities came together in a unique way to serve its seniors. Celebrating 50 years, ACC Senior Services has evolved into a major organization that supports Sacramento’s senior populations, but it was born out of an eclectic mix of community interests and […]
Documenting activism as ‘a form of radical care and love’
July 21, 2022 by Leave a Comment
CONTEMPORARY ASIAN AMERICAN ACTIVISM: BUILDING MOVEMENTS FOR LIBERATION Edited by Diane C. Fujino and Robyn Magalit Rodriguez (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2022, 336 pp., $30, paperback) “Contemporary Asian American Activism: Building Movements for Liberation” is an important anthology, the first of its kind, to examine contemporary Asian American activism that focuses on praxis through […]
Groundbreaking biography of Nisei social justice advocate siblings
July 22, 2021 by Leave a Comment
NISEI RADICALS: THE FEMINIST POETICS AND TRANSFORMATIVE MINISTRY OF MITSUYE YAMADA AND MICHAEL YASUTAKE By Diane C. Fujino (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2020, 272 pp., $29.95, paperback) In “Nisei Radicals: The Feminist Poetics and Transformative Ministry of Mitsuye Yamada and Michael Yasutake” Diane Fujino has set herself the formidable task of writing a joint […]
Nobuko Miyamoto??™s riveting stories — on and off the stage
July 22, 2021 by Leave a Comment
NOT YO??™ BUTTERFLY: MY LONG SONG OF RELOCATION, RACE, LOVE AND REVOLUTION By Nobuko Miyamoto (Oakland, Calif.: University of California Press, 2021, 344 pp., $29.95, paperback) Playful, provocative, never boring — that sums up Nobuko Miyamoto and her memoir, “Not Yo??™ Butterfly.” From a young age, Miyamoto showed promise as a dancer, winning a scholarship […]
TAIKOPEACE: A movement for connection and community
April 3, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Last year, San Jose Taiko’s artistic director emeritus and long-time community activist PJ Hirabayashi launched the Website for a movement she calls TaikoPeace. According to Hirabayashi, TaikoPeace is a movement of Japanese traditional drumming for social change and empowerment. Over the past couple of years, Hirabayashi has spread the movement through creating shared values, guided […]
Nobuko Miyamoto releases new double album, ‘120,000 Stories’
April 1, 2021 by Leave a Comment
On the first track of Nobuko Miyamoto’s brand new double album, “120,000 Stories,” the long-time musician and community activist sings these words from her Asian American Movement song, “We are the Children”: “Sing a song for ourselves. What have we got to lose?” After 50 years of using the arts to create social change and […]
From the strike for ethnic studies to the movement for Black lives
July 16, 2020 by Leave a Comment
INTRODUCING A NEW COLUMN: We are proud to announce Amy Sueyoshi, the dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University, whose new column Nikkei Q seeks to answer the Nikkei community’s most pressing questions on queer topics, such as same-sex sexuality, non-binary gender, and discussion items that are broadly disconcerting or […]
Picture book about a beloved S.F. artist and arts activist
July 16, 2020 by Leave a Comment
A Life Made by Hand: The Story of Ruth Asawa Written and illustrated by Andrea D’Aquino (Hudson, N.Y.: 2019, 40 pp., $17.95, hard cover) Andrea D’Aquino, artist and author, introduces young children to Ruth Asawa, a San Francisco institution. The author focuses on the influences that shaped and inspired Asawa’s unique artistry. It begins with […]
A life’s work
July 16, 2020 by Leave a Comment
The Journey Continues By Peter Yamamoto (San Francisco: National Japanese American Historical Society, 271 pp., $10.95, paperback) Peter Kenichi Yamamoto’s book of poetry, “The Journey Continues” (2020), marks the culmination of the life-labor of a poet and activist who dedicated his creative talents and generous spirit toward the betterment of his community and world. Published […]
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