Tag: educator workshop

Kristen Hayashi talking to teachers about the Little Tokyo postcard.

Summer of Learning in Little Tokyo

Lynn Yamasaki Leave a comment

With fall right around the corner, we are reflecting on a great summer welcoming teachers from across the country to Little Tokyo to participate in weeklong Landmarks of American History and Culture workshops titled Little Tokyo: How History Shapes a Community Across Generations. Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Landmarks of American History and Culture program brings K–12 educators to sites, areas, and regions of historic and cultural significance.

Lynn Yamazaki talks with teachers.
Teachers on a walking tour of Los Angeles's Little Tokyo.
Manzanar concentration camp
JANM volunteers Hal Keimi, June Berk, and Richard Murakami talk with teachers.

Image Gallery: Lynn Yamasaki, director of JANM’s Education unit, talks with educators. Educators on a tour of Little Tokyo. The site of the Manzanar concentration camp. Former incarcerees and JANM Volunteers Hal Keimi, June Berk, and Richard Murakami talk with teachers.

Teachers are some of our very favorite people and we were so pleased to welcome fifty-eight incredible educators selected from an applicant pool of over 150 to join us in Little Tokyo!

Collectively, they represented twenty-seven states and reach over 7,200 students each year.

In addition to sessions with JANM Education staff, participants learned from eighteen guest scholars, educators, and community members and gained an in-depth understanding of Japanese American history through the lens of Little Tokyo. Topics gave insight into the community throughout time and included immigration, prewar racism, Bronzeville, World War II incarceration, postwar activism, the redress and reparations movement, and present day issues facing Little Tokyo. This year, a powerful day was spent visiting Manzanar National Historic Site. Check out this short video to hear from some of the participants about their time spent at JANM!

We are grateful to the NEH and to all the teachers who traveled from near and far to join us. It was an inspiring and energizing program for our staff, volunteers, and community.

We are thrilled to share that JANM has received another Landmarks of American History and Culture grant to continue workshops again in 2025. Keep an eye on our website or join our education enewsletter to stay informed about the application period and process.

Little Tokyo: How History Shapes a Community Across Generations has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Teachers look at artifacts from JANM's collection.
Kristen Hayashi talking to teachers about the Little Tokyo postcard.
Former incarceree and JANM volunteer Hal Keimi talking with teachers.
Teachers listening to speakers during a workshop funded by the National Endowment for Humanities.

Image Gallery: Educators look at artifacts from JANM’s Collection. Kristen Hayashi, director of Collections Management and Access and curator, and Hal Keimi speak with educators. Karen Ishizuka, chief curator, moderates a panel with community members Mike Murase, Kathy Masaoka, and Mark Masaoka about Little Tokyo.

Educator Workshops—Now Accepting Applications!

Lynn Yamasaki 2 Comments

We are excited to share that JANM is currently accepting applications for Little Tokyo: How History Shapes a Community Across Generations. These are week-long workshops for K–12 educators that are funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities as one of their Landmarks of American History and Culture educator workshops that focus on sites of historic and cultural significance. We are honored to be among the fourteen sites conducting Landmarks workshops in 2024. 

This program will examine history through the neighborhood of Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, California. The week-long workshop will be offered twice: June 24–28 and July 15–19, 2024.

During the course of the workshop, participants will be joined by scholars, educators, curators, and community historians to learn about this unique place and how it has evolved through history. This program will examine how Little Tokyo has been impacted by events and issues such as restrictive covenants, eminent domain, the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans, the civil rights movement, and gentrification. With a focus on Japanese American history, we will consider the past’s relevance to present day issues of identity and preservation. A day trip to Manzanar National Historic Site will also be included.

A group of people in a classroom setting listening to a speaker
A panel of survivors of America’s concentration camps speak about their experiences.

We invite teachers from across the country to apply to the program. Join us in Los Angeles for an in-depth look at the Japanese American experience through the special neighborhood of Little Tokyo. 

Each participant will receive a $1,300 stipend after completing the workshop. This stipend is intended to help compensate participants for their time commitment and to defray the costs of participation in the workshop which may include expenses such as travel, housing, and meals. 

All application materials must be submitted no later than March 5, 2024. For more information, including how to apply visit janm.org/education/workshops/2024/neh 

A group of people posing for a photograph on a city sidewalk
Participants at a summer 2022 workshop on a walking tour of Little Tokyo.

JANM Hosts Teacher Workshops Exploring Little Tokyo

Lynn Yamasaki 6 Comments

During the last two weeks of July, JANM had a wonderful time welcoming over fifty teachers from eighteen states for Little Tokyo: How History Shapes a Community Across Generations. These two week-long workshops were funded by a Landmarks of American History and Culture grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Grants are awarded to study topics and themes in K–12 humanities within sites, areas, or regions of historic and cultural significance.

Little Tokyo Historical Society President Michael Okamura with a group of teachers on a walking tour.

JANM examined Japanese American history through the lens of Little Tokyo by exploring how this historic cultural, residential, and business hub for the Southern California Japanese American community transformed over the course of its history. The workshop explored how historical events, legislation, and the community impact this landmark site and the people who are a part of it.

Teachers learned about immigration to the area and the establishment of Japanese stores, restaurants, religious, and cultural institutions in the early half of the 20th century, through the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, a period in which the neighborhood was known as Bronzeville and was home to African Americans from the Deep South who had arrived in Los Angeles seeking wartime employment. Post-war issues around resettlement, eminent domain, redress and reparations, and gentrification; and the present-day challenges and triumphs involved in preserving the history and culture of the area while moving the community forward were also examined.

This was great! The first person testimonies in particular will be something I [will] never forget, and I feel lucky that I get to bring those narratives to my students in the coming year.

—Participating teacher
June Berk and Sande Hashimoto share their memories of pre-war Little Tokyo.

In addition to showcasing the history of this neighborhood and the Japanese American community through JANM’s collection and exhibitions, we are grateful for the many perspectives contributed by scholars, community members, artists, activists, and educators. 

The teachers heard from speakers representing organizations including Little Tokyo Community Council, Little Tokyo Historical Society, Visual Communications, and Facing History and Ourselves; artists Dan Kwong,  Cog•nate Collective, and TT Takemoto; JANM scholars, educators, and visiting scholars, Dr. Hillary Jenks, and Dr. Mitchell Maki; and many JANM volunteers and community members who shared very impactful first-person experiences and reflections.

My knowledge of the Japanese American experience has grown tremendously and I feel more confident using language, accessing resources, and teaching about the incarceration as well as the resilience of the community then and now.

—Participating teacher
  • Kristen Hayashi, JANM’s Director of Collections Management and Access and Curator shares about the post-war Little Tokyo resettlement period.
  • Kristin Fukushima, Little Tokyo Community Council Managing Director discusses the present and future of Little Tokyo.
  • Kathy Masaoka and Mike Murase discuss post-war Asian American activism.
  • Dan Kwong and Junko Goda reading on stage at the Takeuchi Democracy Forum
    An updated version of director, writer, and artist Dan Kwong’s “Tales of Little Tokyo” was performed by Kwong and Junko Goda.

There are many threads that make up the very strong fabric of Little Tokyo and we learned so much from all the voices who offered their expertise and shared their experiences.

Teachers with JANM volunteers June Berk, Richard Murakami, and Mas Yamashita, who shared first-person experiences.

Little Tokyo: How History Shapes a Community Across Generations was made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this workshop do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.