Planting the Seeds: A Grassroots Approach to JA Community in the East Bay
Planting the Seeds: A Grassroots Approach to JA Community in the East Bay
Friday, June 18, 6:30 pm
A conversation with founders of the East Bay Japanese for Action and Eden Issei Housing – Robert Sakai, Dennis Yotsuya, and Dr. Reiko Homma True, with moderator Lauren Kawana. This panel is part of J-Sei’s 50th Anniversary celebration programs.
Over 50 years ago, a community grassroots effort by college student activists initiated two non-profits, East Bay Japanese for Action and East Bay Issei Housing. Join us for a trip down memory lane to hear from the people integral to the social movement that led to the eventual formation of J-Sei. Seeking resources for Japanese American seniors, our invited guests will share their memories and experiences on why and how East Bay Japanese for Action and East Bay Issei Housing began. What was the vision and how was it cultivated? What has evolved and changed as we look forward to the next 50 years?
RSVP to jill@j-sei.org with “Founders 6/18” in subject.
Community planning included both students and Nisei community leaders. Pictured: Murayo Sawai, Tad Hirota (Berkeley JACL), Dennis Yotsuya, Peter Horikoshi, and Jan Nakao. Photo courtesy of Thomas Okamoto.
Special Founder’s Bento
A special bento will be offered for this J-Sei 50th Anniversary program. Order and pick up a bento. Then, join us for the talk.
Founder’s Meal
Mixed Fish Nanbanzuke (fried fish with picketed vegetables) Buta Shabu Salad (shaved pork) nori onigiri
The price is $20 for the bento.
You can pick up your meal at the selected pick up time at J-Sei on Friday, June 18th. Please remember to wear a mask and observe social distance protocol. Thank you!
To order: When you click on the button below, it will take you directly to a pop-up order form on the My Friend Yuji webpage, where you first select a pickup time. In the next window, click anywhere inside the box frame to open another pop-up and select the number of bento you want to order, then click on “Add item” to close the pop-up. Click the “View order” bar at the bottom to confirm your order and click “Continue to payment” to sign in and pay for your order.
Miyamoto vividly describes her early life in the racialized atmosphere of Hollywood musicals and then her turn toward activism as an Asian American troubadour with the release of A Grain of Sand—considered to be the first Asian American folk album. Her narrative intersects with the stories of Yuri Kochiyama and Grace Lee Boggs, influential in both Asian and Black liberation movements. She tells how her experience of motherhood with an Afro-Asian son, as well as a marriage that intertwined Black and Japanese families and communities, placed her at the nexus of the 1992 Rodney King riots—and how she used art to create interracial solidarity and conciliation.
