Groundbreaking biography of Nisei social justice advocate siblings

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 […]

Docuseries offers fresh look at Asian American experience

“Asian Americans,” a five-hour film series chronicling the contributions and challenges of the fastest-growing ethnic group in America, is being shown this month on PBS during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Personal histories and new academic research cast a fresh lens on U.S. history and the role Asian Americans have played in it. Renee Tajima-Peña, […]

RABBIT RAMBLINGS: Intraracial alliances in pursuit of justice

One weekend in late-May, I attended two events that focused on a subject that is dear to my heart, that of forming alliances across racial lines and working toward the common goals of more justice, equality and solidarity among people of color. The first was a May 19 concert at the Buddhist Church of San […]

30 YEARS AFTER CHOL SOO LEE: A case that gave birth to Asian American activists

The National Japanese American Historical Society hosted a retrospective March 9 entitled “Chol Soo Lee: 30 Years of Freedom” to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Chol Soo Lee’s release from prison. The event was held in conjunction with the nonprofit’s ongoing exhibit of Japantown Art and Media Workshop posters, created for community organizations and events […]

Korematsu Day event honors Asian Pacific American civil rights ‘heroes’

San Francisco celebrated its third annual Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution, the first day named after an Asian American in the United States, on Jan. 27 at Herbst Theater in San Francisco. The event celebrates Fred T. Korematsu, who resisted unconstitutional laws that incarcerated nearly 120,000 people of Japanese decent during […]

Richard Aoki: The man, the activist, the leader

SAMURAI AMONG PANTHERS: RICHARD AOKI ON RACE, RESISTANCE, AND A PARADOXICAL LIFE By Diane C. Fujino (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2012, 496 pp., paperback; $24.95; cloth, $75) It has been more than 70 years since that fateful day that forever changed the lives of Japanese Americans, and it has been more than 40 years […]