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 […]
Fifth annual Florin Manzanar Pilgrimage A vital journey into understanding
May 27, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Nisei Commencement Honors Our Parents and Grandparents, and UC
December 10, 2009 by Leave a Comment
The following is an excerpt of Patrick Hayashi’s prepared remarks made Dec. 4 at the Nisei honorary degree ceremony at the Robertson Auditorium at the UC San Francisco Mission Bay campus: During our darkest days, UC stood by us. When others treated us harshly, you treated us with kindness. When others persecuted us, you protected […]
NISEI COLLEGE DIPLOMAS: Making Good on a 67-Year-Old Promise
December 3, 2009 by Leave a Comment
The California Nisei College Diploma Project is sponsored by the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program in cooperation with Union Bank. Our job, our task, our responsibility is to assist colleges and universities in identifying their Nisei college diploma recipients, wherever they or their families may be. I would like to thank Assemblymember Warren Furutani […]
Scent of ‘Mums’ Evoke Memories of Fall in Japan
November 12, 2009 by Leave a Comment
At a store the other day a woman passed me and a whiff of her fragrance nearly knocked me away. It wasn’t the strength of it. Far from it, it was the faintness of the scent that stopped me on the spot. The women had in her cart several pots of chrysanthemums of different kinds, […]
THE POWER OF WORDS REVISITED: ‘Concentration Camps’ and ‘Internment Camps’
November 5, 2009 by Leave a Comment
Note: The following is the second part of a series on the terminology used to describe the incarceration of Nikkei during WWII. The first piece, which focused on two specific terms — “evacuation” and “relocation” — appeared in the Nichi Bei Times Weekly July 23-29, 2009 (www.nichibeitimes.com). Some people have told me the problem with […]
Race Relations in the Neighborhood
October 22, 2009 by Leave a Comment
When I first came to California I was warned to be careful about certain neighborhoods. I didn’t know what it meant until I heard about a tourist being robbed on a quiet street in San Francisco. He was surrounded by a group of little boys between eight to ten years of age each wielding weapons […]
Support a ‘Living’ Legacy of Japanese American Culture (Part 4)
October 15, 2009 by Leave a Comment
(Note: The fourth of four parts) For more than 30 years, off of the deck of my house, I have gazed into the beautiful garden of my neighbor next door below me. I observed Rose planting flowers everywhere, tenderly applying soil or pulling unsightly weeds. Years ago she passed away, and her husband did a […]
The Taiji Story
October 8, 2009 by Leave a Comment
First, the disclaimer; I do not represent any organization or group. I am writing my personal reactions, reflections, and questions. The views I express here are not necessarily those of the Nichi Bei Weekly. It’s about the dolphins, about their being culled annually for meat at a place called Taiji. Most people from Japan would […]
Support a ‘Living’ Legacy of Japanese American Culture (Part 3)
October 8, 2009 by Leave a Comment
Nihonmachi Little Friends (NLF) Capital Campaign has already raised 95 percent of its $2,200,000 goal. NLF retired the mortgage on the 1830 Sutter St. building in 2007 and is currently in the process of much needed retrofitting and upgrading. My purpose in writing is to encourage more supporters to find inspiration in the many extraordinary […]
Planning a memorial in North Dakota
We gathered over the Memorial Day weekend as special guests of United Tribes Technical College, located on the grounds of Fort Lincoln, Bismarck, N.D. This was one of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) internment sites that operated between 1941 to 1946, holding approximately 1,800 Japanese and 1,500 Germans. Overall, about 6,000 Germans and Japanese from […]