Next Generation: Japanese-Americans Discuss Heritage, Culture, and Civil Rights

Posted on February 22, 2018 by [email protected] — No Comments ↓

Event Details

Date: February 20, 2018 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Categories: Events, JACL

Next Generation:

Japanese-Americans Discuss Heritage, Culture, and Civil Rights

(Co-sponsored by JAJA (Japanese Americans and Japanese in America)

In recognition of the 76th Anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 we will be
collaborating with our sister organization JAJA in hosting a panel discussion about civic
engagement.

On February 19,1942 President Roosevelt signed EO9066 giving the U.S. Military the

authority to incarcerate nearly 120,000 people of Japanese descent during WW2, resulting

in the destruction of many innocent lives. The memory of these illegal actions has become

relevant once again in our present time. Racial-profiling, persecution, incarceration, and

the basic denial of civil and human rights is becoming an everyday reality for millions of

Americans and immigrants in this country.

Please join us for a timely discussion with members of a new generation of Japanese

American civil rights activists who reflect their concerns through the lens of their culture,

heritage, and a strong awareness of the injustices of the past.

Panelists:

Cath Goulding is a Yonsei Japanese American from the East San Francisco Bay Area,

where she worked as a public high school teacher, served on Hyphen magazine’s editorial

staff, and volunteered with Kearny Street Workshop. She recently finished her doctorate

at Teachers College, Columbia University, where her research focused on the

immersive experience in teaching histories of exclusion and incarceration. She has also
recently collaborated with the Korematsu Institute on writing curriculum and creating new
programs for teachers. Currently, she is a postdoctoral research fellow at the 9/11 Memorial
& Museum. She is working on a book based on her dissertation research, partly about
Japanese American camp pilgrimages and former places of confinement as sites for

public engagement and learning.

Brett Kodama is a Yonsei Japanese American filmmaker based in New York City. One

of his recent short films is “One-Two-One-Seven”, is a documentary about his grandmother

who was incarcerated at the Manzanar Relocation Center as a child in World War 2.

It has had multiple screenings throughout the country, including one at Manzanar itself.

As a Japanese American Yonsei, he feels it is his responsibility to not only inform people

of the injustices against the Japanese Americans in World War 2, but to connect that

history to modern day injustices in order to prevent similar discrimination towards other

groups of people. Brett Kodama also currently serves on JACL-NY’s Board of Directors.

For more information please visit his Vimeo page here.

Becca Asaki is a Yonsei Japanese American with extensive international work

experience in Central America, Asia, Europe, and Africa, coordinating programs, and

developing and facilitating grassroots-driven global advocacy. She is currently a

Communications and Development Coordinator for CASA: (Community Action for

Safety Apartments) in the Bronx, a member-led grassroots tenants rights organization

fighting for safe and affordable housing in the Southwest Bronx. Previously, she was as an

AIDS Campaign Co-ordinator for the Huairou Commission, a global network that works with

women’s grassroots organizations to wield collective influence for sustainable, gender

equitable and pro-poor development. She also serves on the NY Day of Remembrance

Committee and is dedicated to advancing women’s empowerment, community organizing

and social justice.

DATE: Tuesday, February 20, 2018

TIME: 7:00pm

WHERE: Julie Azuma’s home, 12 W. 18th St, Apt #3E (between 5th/6th avenues)

PHONE: 917-833-8123

This event is a JAJA style community POTLUCK, so everyone please bring a dish
(preferably a main one) and/or drinks, or donate a suggested $10 or more to help defray
costs for the event.

This is an OPEN event, so JACL-NY members may bring guests (as long as they also
bring something for the potluck).

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Next Generation: Japanese-Americans Discuss Heritage, Culture, and Civil Rights

Event Details

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