Sansei: On Being Japanese American in a Time of Crisis
By Stan Shikuma [In April 2017, I was asked to speak on what my Japanese American identity means to me, and how that informs my values of social justice, particularly in relation to my being “third generation” (Sansei). This was shortly after the second attempt at a Muslim Ban was blocked by the courts but…
Jon Jang and the Sounds of Struggle Part II: Black Music, Bruce Lee
by Jon Jang Act II Black Music, Bruce Lee Lead Me to Free Me in (19)73! During my first year as a student at UC Berkeley in 1972-73, I continued my obsession of buying black music recordings at Leopold’s, the independent record store, which was one block away from my dormitory. Before Leopold’s, the record…
Nikkei Resisters & Interfaith Rally for Raul Lopez – UPDATED
By Eddie Wong On February 8, Nikkei Resisters joined the monthly Interfaith Immigration Vigils at the San Francisco headquarters of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. Other organization that endorsed the vigil included the following: the Buena Vista United Methodist Church, San Francisco Buddhist Church, San Francisco Day of Remembrance Committee, Japanese American…
Helen Zia’s Last Boat Out of Shanghai
Helen Zia’s new book, Last Boat Out of Shanghai, is a powerful, moving account of the exodus of over one million people from China between the 1940s to 1949 as war and revolution consumed the country. Critics reacted enthusiastically on the book’s January 22 release: “An absorbing history of a refugee crisis that mirrors current…
Tales of Clamor – a masterful, magical theatrical experience
By Eddie Wong Silence… sadness… strength… solace – these words rippled through my mind as I watched the preview performance of Tales of Clamor, the new play about the Japanese American redress/reparations movement, performed on Feb. 1, 2019 at the Aratani Theater at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center in Los Angeles. Written…
In Praise of Dr. Dawn Mabalon – Ruby Ibarra & Native Guns
article by Eddie Wong, videos by Jericho Saria. Posted Jan. 26, 2019. Dr. Dawn Bohulano Mabalon left us with a legacy that will inspire us today, tomorrow, and forever. She was known as a fierce advocate for preserving Stockton’s Little Manila, an emphatic educator whose works on Filipino American history influenced thousands of students, a…
Commemorating the first AA anti-Vietnam War Rally in Little Tokyo
Several hundred Asian Americans from all walks of life gathered in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo 49 years ago on January 17, 1970 to protest the Vietnam War. Visual Communications, a collaborative of young Asian American photographers and filmmakers, was there to document this historic occasion. The following video captures the events of the day and…
Jon Jang and the Sounds of Struggle – Part One: Black Arts in White Palo Alto
The Sounds of Struggle: Music from the Black Liberation Movement of the 1960s to the Asian American Movement of the 1980s By Jon Jang Editor’s Note: This is part one of a multi-part series of articles. The entire series will unfold monthly. “In recent times musicians like Charles Mingus (dig Fables of Faubus, etc.), Max…
Tsering Ngodup: Tibetan American Organizes for Union Drive at Tufts
This the transcript of an interview between Tsering Ngodup and Liz Bishop about the Tufts Dining workers’ successful unionization campaign that occurred in the spring of 2018. Liz graduated from Tufts in May 2018 and was a student worker in the Tufts dining halls from September 2015 to May 2018. Tsering introduces himself in the…
Parol Festival Sends A Joyous Message of Unity
by Eddie Wong. Posted December 13, 2018. There was a slight chill in the air on this San Francisco night deep in SOMA Pilipinas, the cultural heritage district of the Filipino American community. And winter in SF is often rainy and cold. But nothing could dampen the spirit of the hundreds who gathered for the…