Author: Allyson Nakamoto

Allyson Nakamoto is the Director of Education at the Japanese American National Museum.

Recap of 2013 National Conference!

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Panama Hotel stop along the tour of Seattle's Chinatown-International District organized by the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience
Panama Hotel stop along the tour of Seattle’s Chinatown-International District organized by the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience

 

Thank you to everybody who attended, supported, and remotely cheered us on at the 2013 National Conference that JANM hosted in Seattle this past July!

Since the conclusion of the conference, we have been receiving a steady stream of really nice comments from people who attended, letting us know more about the experiences they had. We have also been posting conference articles, conference photos and videos, and conference reflections. You can access it all via our brand new Conference Highlights page!

And thank you to all who have supported us at the past conferences, including museum friends in Los Angeles, Little Rock, and Denver. It’s through projects like this that we have a real chance to work closely with JANM members and supporters from around the nation.

For that, we are truly grateful!

The Seattle Nisei Veterans Committee carried in the colors to kick off the Opening General Session.
The Seattle Nisei Veterans Committee carried in the colors to kick off the Opening General Session.
The Hirami family came from across the nation to attend the conference!
The Hirami family came from across the nation to attend the conference!
Cartoonist Stan Sakai with super fans Daniel and Ben Klosterman.
Cartoonist Stan Sakai with super fans Daniel and Ben Klosterman.
Students from University of Washington participate in a bilingual panel entitled, "We Didn't Marry the War."
Students from University of Washington participate in a bilingual panel entitled, “We Didn’t Marry the War.”
Tom Ikeda, Karen Korematsu, Judge Mary Schroeder, Kathryn Bannai, Lori Bannai, and Secretary Norm Mineta.
Tom Ikeda, Karen Korematsu, Judge Mary Schroeder, Kathryn Bannai, Lorraine Bannai, and Secretary Norm Mineta.
Dr. Kimura, JANM President/CEO, and author Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston.
Dr. Kimura, JANM President/CEO, and author Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston.
A few of the organizers of the unforgettable Bainbridge Island bus tour.
A few of the organizers of the unforgettable Bainbridge Island bus tour.

Photos courtesy of Tracy Kumono Photography.

Back to School!

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Schools have started and JANM is back in session! Buses pull up each morning, filled with students and teachers coming to learn more about the Japanese American experience.

We are always thinking about ways in which these visitors—most of whom are not of Japanese descent—can better relate to the Japanese American experience. One of the ways we do this is to use the artifacts (the “stuff”) from JANM’s collection as a means to begin conversations about visitors’ diverse, yet intersecting, experiences.

So last Spring, we worked with a group of ninth graders from Los Angeles Unified School District’s King/Drew Magnet High School of Medicine and Science to see how artifacts connect to stories of immigration/migration. These students uncovered family histories to learn how their artifacts related to their families’ journeys.

Before coming to JANM for a school visit, students photographed their artifacts and wrote short narratives about journeys to Los Angeles from other states, other countries. The artifacts, like the artifacts in JANM’s collection, are indeed very precious and have some amazing stories to tell!

We hope that the sampling of the essays from the King/Drew students might also get you thinking about your own stories of immigration/migration.

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The students’ essays were created as part of a pilot project between King/Drew Magnet High School of Medicine and Science, the Japanese American National Museum, and the Smithsonian Institution’s Our American Journey Project. OAJ is a multi-year project that will examine international and internal migration centered on what we understand today to be the United States.

Photos by Gary Ono.

Commemorating 25 Years of the Civil Liberties Act

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Gift of Norman Y. Mineta, Japanese American National Museum (96.370.16A)Gift of Norman Y. Mineta, Japanese American National Museum (96.370.16A)

There is a lot happening at JANM today, but we first wanted to take some time to remember that August 10, 1988 is the day that President Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act. This Act offered an apology and granted redress and reparations to the over 110,000 people of Japanese descent who were incarcerated during World War II.

The signing of the Civil Liberties Act was the result of a lot of hard work from many, many individuals and groups around the nation. The government’s formal acknowledgement of the unjust incarceration remains a major milestone in the history of not just the Japanese American community, but within the history of the United States.

To reflect upon this event, last month JANM hosted a national conference in Seattle themed, Speaking Up! Democracy, Justice, Dignity. A modified version of one of the panel sessions that took place in Seattle will also be happening today in Little Tokyo! If you have a chance, please drop by the DISKovery Center this afternoon to see selected video clips related to the Civil Liberties Act, including the powerful testimonials from the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Interment of Civilians (CWRIC) hearings that took place in Los Angeles. These free screenings are being put together by Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress and a full schedule is available here.

Hope that you’re able to take a moment today to reflect on the Civil Liberties Act and the impact that it (and World War II) had on the lives of so many. And thank you to all of those who—in ways big and small—worked to ensure that the United States is taking steps to becoming “a more perfect union.”

 

P.S. We are slowly making our way through the many photos from the conference and will be sharing more online soon!

Thank you for joining us in Seattle!

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Thank you to the over 500 people who joined us at our fourth National Conference, Speaking Up! Democracy, Justice, Dignity, held July 4–7 in Seattle, Washington.

Participants came from around the nation, as well as from Canada and Japan to participate in a jam-packed program commemorating the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Liberties Act.  [See below for a video of Secretary Norman Mineta’s keynote address at the dinner banquet on July 6.]

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We are now going through the photos, video footage, and audio recordings of the conference so that we can make them available on the Web. But for now, because we are so excited about all of the media, wanted to preview just a few of the photos and to say THANK YOU for helping make the conference unforgettable!  And a special THANK YOU to the folks in Seattle for sharing the history of their wonderful city with us.

(Photos by Tracy Kumono)

 

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Early Bird Registration Ends 1/31/13!

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Scene from JANM’s 2008 National Conference in Denver. Photo by Tracy Kumono.

We are so excited that it is finally 2013… because our fourth national conference is just 6 months away! We hope that you and your family will join us.

Register before January 31 to receive the early bird rate for JANM’s 2013 National Conference, “Speaking Up! Democracy, Justice, and Dignity.” If you register now, you will not only save money, but there are still spaces available for the trips to Bainbridge Island (bus tour) and/or the International District (bus tour and/or walking tour).

Here are some handy links:

– On-line registration

– Schedule of events and speakers

– Booking a room at the Sheraton Seattle at the lower, JANM rate

And a special shout out to our partners: Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington and University of Washington, Department of American Ethnic Studies. We couldn’t do any of this without them.

See you and your family in Seattle in July!

 

(More) Reasons to Be Excited about JANM’s 2013 National Conference in Seattle

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We are hosting a national conference next year in Seattle, Washington! It will be from July 4-7, 2013 at the Sheraton Seattle and the theme is “Speaking Up! Democracy, Justice, Dignity.” Go on-line for the latest information about the program of events, our speaker line-up, and to register.

But in case you need even more reasons to gather your family to join us in Seattle at the conference, how about these…

Seattle was the setting of the TBS Japanese drama, 99 Years of Love (2010) and John Okada’s book, No-No Boy (1979). Readers of No-No Boy will recognize this sign:

Some of the best food I’ve ever eaten has been at the vegetarian & vegan Plum Bistro in Capitol Hill. And if it’s raining, you can slurp down a hot bowl of nabeyaki udon at Hiroshi’s Restaurant in Eastlake. Meanwhile near the International District, the Cheeky Cafe serves up eclectic food in these very generous portions.

(Bonus: sharing a meal at the Cheeky Cafe with JANM Board of Governor, Tom Ikeda of Densho.)

And what says more about a city than its independent book store? Elliott Bay Book Company will be coming to our conference with lots of books!

The early bird registration closes on January 31! Click here for more info about JANM’s National Conference.

Join us at the 2013 National Conference

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Join us…

July 4-7, 2013 at the Seattle Sheraton Hotel Speaking Up! Democracy, Justice, Dignity Our expanded Web site has launched and we’re so excited! Check out the sessions and activities being planned for JANM’s fourth national conference. A multigenerational, multicultural audience of over 1,000 attendees is expected for this not-to-be-missed community gathering. And, save time and money with our NEW online registration—JANM members save up to 35% with our Early Bird registration. Be sure to share the newswith your family and friends. See you in Seattle!

Participants at our 2008 conference in Denver.

Congrats to Kerry Hada!

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Judge Kerry Hada, a member of JANM’s Board of Governors, has recently been awarded the Foreign Minister’s Commendation by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Richard Clark and Judge Raymond Uno also received this prestigious commendation. All of the details are available here.

Thanks to George Yoshida, our “eyes and ears” in Colorado, for passing along this info, as well as for providing the above picture of Judge Hada and his family.