November 12, 2020
Looking for ways to stay cozy and connected as the weather gets colder? Here’s a list of upcoming digital events offered by Densho and other community partners this winter. We’ll continue to update this calendar as we add new programming, so make sure to check back for the latest!
November
Thursday, November 12th
Xenophobia: From Japanese American Incarceration to Immigrant Detention Today, 4pm PST
This digital teach-in will deepen your understanding of American xenophobia and racism, using Japanese American WWII incarceration and the current crisis of immigrant detention as case studies. Free and open to the public, but priority will be given to Washington State teachers.
This teach-in is full, but check back for future dates!
Tuesday, November 17th
“My Unforgotten Seattle” book event with Ron Chew, 6pm PST
Third-generation Seattleite, historian, journalist, and museum visionary Ron Chew spent more than five decades fighting for Asian American and social justice causes in Seattle. He will be joined by Densho Executive Director Tom Ikeda for a discussion of his new memoir, My Unforgetten Seattle, hosted by The Seattle Public Library.
>> Register now
“We Were Here and Queer Before the Issei” with Andrew Leong, 7pm PST
Literary scholar Andrew Way Leong explores how Japanese American generational identities, from Issei to Gosei, were developed by early Japanese immigrant community leaders to promote ideas of stable, permanent settlement through heterosexual marriage and child-rearing — and how this thinking has reduced our awareness of queer and same-sex intimacies in early Japanese American communities. (This event is part of J-Sei’s virtual exhibit, “Seen and Unseen: Queering Japanese American History Before 1945.”)
Sunday, November 22nd
Setsuko’s Secret: Exploring the Multigenerational Effects of the Japanese American Incarceration, 4pm PST
Author Shirley Ann Higuchi, J.D., chair of the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, will be joined by Darrel Kunitomi and Aura Newlin to discuss her new book, the multigenerational effects of trauma, and the WWII incarceration’s relevance to contemporary issues of racism and identity in America. The conversation will be moderated by Tom Ikeda and is co-presented by The Seattle Public Library, Densho, and the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation.
>> Register
December
Tuesday, December 1st
“Queer Cinematic Visions of Nikkei History” with Tina Takemoto, 7pm PST
Join award-winning filmmaker Tina Takemoto for a screening and discussion of two short experimental films engaging with the tactile and sensory dimensions of queer Japanese American history. (This event is part of J-Sei’s virtual exhibit, “Seen and Unseen: Queering Japanese American History Before 1945.”)
Thursday, December 10th
Untold Stories of Nikkei California, 12pm PST
A panel of leading experts of Japanese American history will share little known stories of Nikkei life in California, before, during, and after WWII incarceration. Learn about the Burbank trailer camp where Japanese Americans lived after WWII; about Chiye Mori, the leftist editor of the Manzanar Free Press who went on to become a notable activist and artist; about experiments in rubber production at Manzanar; and so much more.
>> Register
January
Wednesday, January 6th
New epsiode of Campu!
Brother-sister duo Hana and Noah Maruyama are back with more episodes of Densho’s new podcast, Campu. Catch up on the first three episodes, and start the new year with a new episode of Campu!
Thursday, January 21st
Untold Stories of Nikkei New York
Scholar and journalist Greg Robinson showcases the lives and achievements of relatively unknown but remarkable people in Nikkei history in his new book, “The Unsung Great: Stories of Extraordinary Japanese Americans.” In this book launch event, Robinson—a native New Yorker—will explore the unknown aspects of the diverse and artistically vibrant Nikkei community in prewar and wartime New York. He will then be joined by artists Tomie Arai and Sheila Hamanaka in a conversation moderated by Brian Niiya, Densho Content Director.
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[Header photo: Japanese Americans climbing Castle Rock outside Tule Lake, January 1943. Courtesy of the National Records and Archives Administration.]