|
|
In This Issue |
|
|
|
|
|
2022 San Jose Day of
Remembrance
Japanese Latin American Day of Action
Films of Remembrance
Premier Episode of Nichi Bei
Cafe |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
View the
42nd Annual San Jose Day of Remembrance program
on February 19, 2022 from 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM
(Pacific Time)
by accessing this link:
https://youtu.be/-sMegGjtlWU
No registration is required |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Although the official program start time is
3:00 PM (PT) on February 19, 2022, you can
watch a special performance of
IKKAI by the
Kambara+ dance group if you tune in at
2:50 PM. |
| |
|
|
 |
|
From Kambara+:
IKKAI
means once. The performance is a
transplanted pilgrimage, an immersive dance
project that explores the resilience of the
Japanese American community. IKKAI
demonstrates how we heal from generational
trauma and how we find ways to transform the
violence enacted upon our forebearers into
compassion and strength that can be used to
stand alongside others. |
 |
|
Through 2022, we will be hosting
various community engagement events in the
lead up to our premiere at the San
Jose Buddhist Church and Glide Memorial
Church in San Francisco. If you are
interested in learning more or supporting
this collaboration please reach out to us at
kambaraplusdancers@gmail.com. We invite you
to follow our project at
https://www.kambaraplus.org/ikkai or on
social media @ikkai_pilgrimage.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
The 42nd Annual San Jose Day of Remembrance
program will be held virtually on Saturday,
February 19 from 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM (Pacific Time).
The event falls on the 80th anniversary of the
signing of Executive Order 9066 which led to the
World War II incarceration of more than 120,000
people of Japanese descent, two-thirds of whom were
American citizens.
The theme for this virtual
program is Overcoming Hate and Fear: The
80th Anniversary of E.O 9066. Over the past
two plus years, many communities have had to deal
with multiple challenges including the deadly
pandemic; economic, educational, and personal
hardship; intense political division, and physical
and emotional isolation. During these tumultuous
times, we also witnessed violent hate crimes and
racist acts, including horrific incidents directed
toward AAPI and African American communities. In
the midst of great tragedy and horror, we also saw
different communities come together in the struggle
for racial and social justice. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Related to this theme, NOC is honored to
have featured Day of Remembrance speaker,
Cynthia Choi, a codirector
of Chinese for
Affirmative Action and cofounder of
Stop
AAPI Hate. Often cited by major news
organizations, Stop AAPI Hate has had a
tremendous impact in raising awareness about
the rise of violence and hate-based
incidents directed towards the AAPI
community. Not only is Stop AAPI Hate trying
to understand the realities of anti-Asian
racism, the organization is also a platform
for finding community-based solutions. |
| |
|
|
 |
|
Locally, the
San Jose Nikkei Resisters (SJNR) is one
group that is forming community-based
solutions. Kelsey Ichikawa
is the chair of the Reimagining Public
Safety Subcommittee in SJNR. She will talk
about their recent work and advocacy efforts
in building up community care structures,
including mental and behavioral health
services and in hosting workshops on
restorative justice practices, bystander
intervention and de-escalation techniques. |
 |
|
The 2022 Day of Remembrance program will
also commemorate the 80th anniversary of the
signing of
Executive Order 9066. As part of this
commemoration, Eiko Yamaichi
will be the featured remembrance speaker.
Alice Hikido, Aggie Idemoto, Joe
Yasutake, and Tom Oshidari
will also give short remembrances
of their incarceration. |
 |
|
In 1988, the United States gave an
official apology to former incarcerees of
the concentration camps with the passage of
the
Civil Liberties Act of 1988. It is
important to note that there were many
people who were also incarcerated in the
same camps as Japanese Americans but were
not offered the same acknowledgement.
Grace Shimizu of the
Campaign for Justice Redress Now for
Japanese Latin Americans will speak
about the continued fight for truth,
acknowledgement, and justice. |
 |
|
Athar Siddiqee of the
South Bay
Islamic Association has spoken at many
of our previous San Jose Day of Remembrance
events. He will relate the theme of the
program to the issues that we are struggling
with today. He will again voice his
solidarity with Japanese Americans and the
AAPI community. |
 |
|
Many communities across the United
States became alarmed when they saw horrific
hate incidents directed against AAPI
people. Rich Saito, of
Japantown Prepared, made a request for
volunteers for citizen patrols to help keep
the community safe. He received overwhelming
support which may have contributed to the
fact that there were no reported violent
hate crimes perpetrated on the streets of
Japantown. |
 |
|
San Jose
Taiko has been a very large part of the
San Jose Day of Remembrance event since the
very early programs. San Jose Taiko have
been Japantown's cultural ambassadors and
they represent the energy and spirit of our
community. In this program, they will
have two electric performances, one of which
is to honor all people who helped others in
our community during this pandemic. |
 |
|
The Wesley United Methodist
Church Virtual Choir will make a
special appearance at this year's event.
Although it can be challenging for a choir
to come together in this world of social
distancing, they have produced this
uplifting virtual performance called "Roll
Down Justice!" |
 |
|
Although we are unable to gather for the
traditional Day of Remembrance candle
lighting ceremony and procession, we are
still able to present a very moving ceremony
led by former incarcerees. There will
also be a tribute to World War II veteran,
Kats HIkido. |
 |
|
From the very first San Jose
Day of Remembrance, both the Wesley
United Methodist Church and the
San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin
have played important roles in bringing the
community together in our shared beliefs.
During these difficult years of the pandemic
and unrest, their words have given us much
comfort and hope. Reverend Keith
Inouye of the Wesley United
Methodist Church and Rinban Gerald
Sakamoto of the San Jose Buddhist
Church Betsuin will open and close the
program with their important message to the
community. |
 |
|
|
|
|
If your family
received an apology from the United States
government for their incarceration during World War
II, or if you are a supporter of that apology,
please consider finding out more about the plight of
Japanese Latin Americans who were abducted from
their home countries and imprisoned in the United
States. Take part in the Japanese Latin
American Day of Action on February 24. |
|
|
 |
|
|
For more information, visit CAMPAIGN
FOR JUSTICE (jlacampaignforjustice.org)
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
An innovative monthly livestream program designed to
keep the community engaged and connected from the
comforts of their own homes, the Nichi Bei Café will
feature news and events, cooking videos in
collaboration with Namiko Chen of
Just One Cookbook, origami video lessons with
Linda Mihara of Paper Tree,
cocktail recipes and more from The Gochiso Gourmet
Ryan Tatsumoto in Hawai‘i, and
videos of Japanese American legacy businesses.
View the premier episode that includes a preview
of some of the Northern California Day of
Remembrance events, including a discussion of the
San Jose Day of Remembrance event with NOC's
Reiko Nakayama and Will Kaku.
Also, you will hear Frank Abe
discuss organizing the very first Day of Remembrance
event in the nation in 1978. |
|
|
|
|
San Jose Nihonmachi
Outreach Committee (NOC)
P.O. Box 2293,
San Jose, CA 95109
E-Mail:
info@sjnoc.org
Website:
www.sjnoc.org
"In the End, we will remember not the words of our
enemies, but the silence of our friends."
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. |
