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Homecoming for Heroes: Veterans Gala in Houston
The National Japanese American Memorial Foundation asks Densho to spread the word about the “Homecoming for Heroes” gala on November 1. The event honors Nisei and Texan veterans whose lives…
Summer Days
On a warm August afternoon, in the time-honored tradition of the summer rerun, we thought we’d share some of our favorite “From the Archive” articles that are available on our…
Tragedy and Lessons: Listen Online
Twitter told us about an excellent lecture by law professor Eric Muller called “The Constitution in Wartime: The Tragedy and the Lessons of the Japanese American Internment of World War…
Justice Watch
Judges are in the news. On the same day, we read that U.S. Federal Judge Robert Takasugi has passed away and learn that President Obama–on the heels of Sonya Sotomayor’s…
Floating Lanterns and Folded Cranes
Today, August 6, the world remembers the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. On the north shore of Green Lake in Seattle, volunteers hold the commemorative ceremony “From Hiroshima to Hope,” a…
Call for Interviewees
Late Friday afternoon we received good news. Densho’s application to the national Japanese American Confinement Sites grant program was awarded in the amount of $112,500. The money will pay for…
Book Event: “Japanese American Resettlement through the Lens”
When Asian American studies scholars visit Seattle, we sometimes invite them to speak in public programs. This Saturday at the Densho building, we will host a author talk by Lane…
Los Angeles Interviews, Tom
Last week I had the joy and honor of interviewing three Nisei women who were talented, strong, and committed individuals. For three days we set up a temporary video studio…
Powerful Storytelling
I came across an interview with Leslie Ishii, a Sansei actor seen on TV in the series Lost and Desperate Housewives, and soon to be seen in the movie Fame….
Hero on the 4th of July
Over the 4th of July holiday, I remembered a news item from the last days of June. Seattle’s historic federal courthouse was rededicated after a three-year renovation. In 2001 the…
Exhibition of Note
An art show we wish we could see in Seattle is a retrospective of work by Densho’s friend Roger Shimomura, master of skewering racist stereotypes. The Return of the Yellow…
Interviews in Minneapolis by Tom
The Twin Cities Chapter of the JACL welcomed us last week with a Monday potluck dinner. This was a fun evening of eating homemade Japanese food, talking with the Chapter…
Minneapolis interviews
Tom, Dana, and I just returned from a whirlwind trip to Minneapolis/St. Paul. The 10 interviews we conducted offered great insight into this significant, though lesser-known, community in the Midwest….
And now…Minnesota
The Densho interview team is on the move again. This week they headed for the Midwest to collect life stories of Nisei who chose to make Minnesota their home after…
Beginning our Summer Interview Trips
We’ve started our summer interview trips which means I will be on the road more than I am in the office. Last week a Densho team (Dana Hoshide, Megan Asaka,…
Nisei Students Help Others
We’re pleased to share a positive news story today. Teresa Watanabe’s June 6 article in the Los Angeles Times serves as antidote to sad reports of college students having to…
Nikkei of the Future
The question of racial, cultural, and generational identity has been a constant at Densho. The makeup of our staff over the years has consisted of Sansei and Yonsei from Seattle’s…
Q&A with a Law Professor
A lawyer friend of Densho, Eric Muller, answered online questions from Washington Post readers about Ashcroft v. Iqbal, a case the Supreme Court declined to hear on May 18. The…
New Content in the Densho Archive
We recently added 33 visual history interviews and 4 photo and document collections to the Densho Digital Archive. The archive now contains over 700 hours of video and over 10,000…
Asian names are so difficult!
A recent news item from Texas is getting lots of attention from Asian Americans. In a hearing on voter registration legislation, Republican state representative Betty Brown asked Ramey Ko of…
Summer Interview Trips
I am excited about the interview trips we have planned for this summer. We are going to at least five areas where we haven’t yet done any interviews. Whenever we…
Aloha, Densho
Densho is supporting a bill submitted by Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii to have the Secretary of the Interior conduct a study of internment camp sites in Hawaii. The idea…
Back to School!
This week for the first time, I got to see how Densho’s teaching materials are used in the classroom. It was an eye-opening experience. Our education consultant, Sarah Loudon, and…
Fred Korematsu Center for Law and Equality
Yesterday, on a sunny spring day in Seattle I attended the launch event for the new Seattle University Law School’s Fred Korematsu Center for Law and Equality. I have very…