America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the United States By Erika Lee (New York: Basic Books, 2019, 432 pp., $32, hard cover) Erika Lee’s new book, “America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the United States,” is one that speaks to our times. Well-respected among academics, Lee is among the foundational historians […]
Rabbit Ramblings: Renewing the call to action in 2020
January 1, 2020 by Leave a Comment
The year 2020 promises to be very eventful. Our community will be extra busy with many pilgrimages and activities planned, including a gathering in Washington, D.C. in June organized by Tsuru For Solidarity. Our goal is to get as many of us — American Japanese, camp survivors and descendants of camp inmates, plus anyone else […]
ICE profiteers should not use JA incarceration to justify their work
September 12, 2019 by Leave a Comment
There is a growing movement in the Japanese American community to stop the Trump administration from incarcerating children and families, led by survivors of the World War II camps who grew up as child prisoners. Many of their descendants — including myself — are working to support them. But not everyone in the JA community […]
Trump’s anti-immigrant campaign castigated: Critics concerned about JA private contractor’s oversight of ICE detention centers
August 15, 2019 by Leave a Comment
The Trump administration’s anti-immigrant campaign has ignited a firestorm of protests from many concerned Americans, who are horrified by the inhumane treatment of the immigrants — especially children — and concerned over the unsatisfactory inspections of Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers by a Nikkei-owned for-profit corporation. Carl Takei, a senior staff attorney for the […]
Then and now
August 1, 2019 by Leave a Comment
During World War II, the Japanese Americans were detained in incarceration camps just because they looked like the enemy, Japan. Today, immigrant children are being removed from their families and put into detention centers just because President Trump hates immigrants. I’m going to talk about their similarities and why people should not be put in […]
Japanese Americans say ‘never again’ to plan to detain migrant children
June 6, 2019 by Leave a Comment
LOS ANGELES — Japanese Americans who claim the Trump administration is repeating the history of Japanese American incarceration during World War II, will on June 22 protest the detention of young migrants who were taken into U.S. custody after crossing the border from Mexico with no legal status. The Fort Sill army base in Lawton, […]
RABBIT RAMBLINGS: On processing the Crystal City pilgrimage
May 23, 2019 by Leave a Comment
I’ve been home for a while since the March 29 to April 1 Crystal City, Texas pilgrimage and demonstration at Dilley, the largest detention center for asylum seekers in the U.S. It is as though my head and my heart are so full of thoughts and feelings that I can’t “process” the experience with detachment. […]
We will fight back in defense of our communities
April 13, 2017 by Leave a Comment
As Donald Trump’s presidency barely passed its one-month mark, Trump has launched profound threats against immigrants and refugees, our human rights, and our climate. In the face of his hateful and destructive policies, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are rising up. Recently, 10 out of 14 members of the president’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans […]
10 Resign from President’s Advisory Commission on AAPIs
March 2, 2017 by Leave a Comment
The President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders submitted their resignations Feb. 15 to President (Donald) Trump. The main reason: Trump’s policies have adversely affected Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Six other Commissioners — Nina Ahmad, Lian Cheun, Diane Narasaki, Shekar Narasimhan, Bo Thao-Urabe, and Paul Watanabe — had resigned in January. “We […]
My tsuru
I am a member of Tsuru for Solidarity. I am not an activist, nor am I a trained artist, but I have painted 12 large tsuru (paper cranes) of various sizes. I paint because it gives me pleasure and a way to express myself. Last year, like many Japanese Americans, I began by folding hundreds […]