Rockin’ The Boat, Flashbacks of the 1970s Asian Movement

Meet Author/Photographer Mary Uyematsu Kao

Saturday, January 24, 2026

Never-before-seen photographs tell the story of the beginnings of Asian America in the 1970s from immigrant generations in Chinatowns, Japanese American youth and multigenerational community activism from California to New York.  Personal reflections from those photographed bring the reader into the experiences of the times. Born in Altadena, a suburb of Los Angeles, activist and photographer Mary Uyematsu Kao attended UCLA during the struggle to establish Asian American Studies on campus. Having worked at the Asian American Studies Center at UCLA for 30 years, she is well known for her graphic design work for AASC Press publications, including the Amerasia Journal.

Kao will be joined in conversation with activist Shoshana Arai. The event is co-presented by Eastwind Books of Berkeley and J-Sei.  

RSVP on Eventbrite.

Connecting Across Generations: Conversations in Career Exploration

Saturday, February 7th @ 3 pm

Jodo Shinshu Center, 2140 Durant Ave, Berkeley 

Community members and students at all stages of their career and life are invited to share where they are on their career journey, how they got there, and any further interests they hope to pursue. We hope to provide an opportunity for exploration and insight through our intergenerational conversation to help inform how identity, values, work/life balance, and more contribute to navigating career and adulthood. Parking is limited, so we encourage carpooling and public transportation. 

Connecting Across Generations (CAG) is to provide spaces to build community and conversation across generations. It is a collaboration between different Bay Area organizations including: J-Sei, Japanese American Youth Alliance (JAYA), and Berkeley Nikkei Student Union (NSU) at UC Berkeley, Berkeley Chapter of Japanese American Citizens League (BJACL), Friends of Topaz Museum, and Japanese American Women Alumnae of UCB (JAWAUCB).