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On Sunday, February 19, 2023, the
Nihonmachi Outreach Committee (NOC)
will present the
43rd annual San Jose Day of
Remembrance program in the
San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin
Annex,
632 North 5th Street, San Jose,
from 5:30 pm–7:00 pm. This event
commemorates
Executive Order 9066, which led to
the World War II imprisonment of
more than 120,000 people of Japanese
descent, two-thirds of whom were
American citizens.
The theme of
the program is "Reparative
Justice: Together We Rise."
Many in the Japanese American community
believe that as our families and our
community were recipients of an official
apology from the United States, it is
our moral responsibility to defend other
communities when they become the
target of hate, discrimination, or cultural
erasure. Many feel compelled to join these
communities in their fight for justice,
human dignity, and reparations. |
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Day of Remembrance Theme
Reparative Justice: Together We Rise |
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San Jose Nikkei Resisters carry
poster designed by artist Kala
Mendoza. Photo courtesy of Susan
Hayase. |
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Cultural Performance |
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San Jose Taiko |
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One of the things that we sorely
missed over the last three years was
seeing a live, electrifying
performance by
San
Jose Taiko at the San Jose Day
of Remembrance. Some of us may have
been fortunate to see their
uplifting
performances for health care workers
or their important Santa Clara
County public service
announcements during the pandemic.
Their energy and enthusiasm brought
hope, strength, and joy to people
during a very difficult time in our
lives. We are so proud of our San
Jose Taiko.
San Jose Taiko
returns to our first live San Jose
Day of Remembrance event since 2020.
Continuously innovating, we have seen
them in recent years collaborating
with performers from other
communities and integrating other forms of artistic expression
into their set. This year we will
see the blending of taiko with rap
and spoken word. |
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Day
of Remembrance Speakers |
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Update: Mr. Valentin Lopez,
Chairperson of the
Amah Mutsun Tribal Band had an
unexpected event this week and had
to change his plans to attend. He
enthusiastically recommended
Professor Veronica Martinez,
a member of the Amah Mutsun
Land Trust Board of Directors,
to take his place. |
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Featured
Speaker: Veronica Martinez |
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Veronica Martinez
is a Communication Studies
instructor at Chabot
Colllege where she is also
the co-chair of the
Indigenous Peoples Education
Association. She speaks at
many events about issues
that are important to the
Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. |
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Veronica Martinez at a
Protect Juristac rally in
San Jose.
Photo by Tyler
Suttle |
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The Amah Mutsun
Tribal Band is one of
three historic tribes that are
recognized as Ohlone. Recently, the
Amah Mutsun Tribal Band has been
involved in the fight to protect the
environmental health of the
region, particularly
Juristac, sacred lands that have
great historic and cultural
significance to the Amah Mutsun. |
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There is a growing trend
in this country where
politicians are trying to
control what educators can
teach in their classrooms
with regards to our racial
history. What do you think? |
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If you grew up in
California, many of you
learned about the California
Missions and Spanish
colonization in the 4th
grade. From what you can
recall, whose perspective
was represented? How did the
teacher or reading material
describe the interaction
between the missions and the
indigenous people? |
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Click
here to listen to
Veronica Martinez read the
children's book, When
The Mission Bells Rang.
Find out more about the
UCSC Critical Missions
Project. |
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Remembrance Speaker: Sumi
Tanabe |
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Sumi Tanabe and her
family were incarcerated at
Jerome, Arkansas and Gila
River, Arizona. Sumi has
been involved with the
Buddhist Church for 50 years
in many roles. She is the
first woman President of the
San Jose Buddhist Church
Betsuin and she is a
long-time board member, Dharma School teacher, and a
member of the Komon group,
senior advisors to the
Betsuin board and minister.
She has held numerous posts
in the Buddhist Churches of
America and has served in
leadership positions in the
American Association of
University Women, Fuji
Towers, and many other
organizations. |
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Sumi is seen
here with her
brother and mother.
The family was first
sent to the Fresno
Assembly Center,
located at the
fairgounds and
racetrack. Sumi
remembers the strong
odors that came from
the horse stables.
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Remembrance Speaker: Satomi
Susie Yasui |
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Satomi Susie Yasui was
born in San Jose and was
living in Tracy, California
when she and her family were
forcibly removed from their
home and subsequently
incarcerated in Gila River,
Arizona. Due to a medical
condition, Satomi was in a
cast from the waist down
until the age of 10 and was
unable to walk. She received
no medical care while in
camp. She took her first
step at the age of 10 after
receiving medical treatment
at Shriners Hospital. She
graduated high school with
her peers, earning a degree
from San Jose State and a
teachers' credential. She
taught for 35 years in the
Moreland School district. |
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Satomi is held
by a neighbor in the
Gila River, Arizona
camp. Because of her
medical condition,
she was unable to
attend school and
interact with other
children during the
formative years of
her life. |
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Community Speaker: Athar
Siddiqee |
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| Film clip of
Athar Siddiqee at
the 2022 San Jose
Day of Remembrance |
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