Category Archives: History

NPR Interviews Fred Korematsu’s Daughter On His Civil Rights Work & Celebrating Fred Korematsu Day

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Moye

NPR recently interviewed Karen Korematsu, the daughter of civil rights leader Fred Korematsu, on her father’s legacy and how she discovered his role in Japanese American history: “I didn’t find out about my father’s Supreme Court case until I was … Continue reading →

Posted in (simple), Discrimination, History | Leave a comment

Top Five Japanese American Women Civil Rights Pioneers You Should Know

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Koji Steven Sakai

In California, January 30 was officially Fred Korematsu Day. It is important to honor and remember Korematsu but I believe it is also a time to look back at some of the other Japanese Americans (JAs) who also fought for … Continue reading →

Posted in Discrimination, History | 5 Comments

The Top Non-Asian Civil Rights Heroes For Japanese Americans

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Koji Steven Sakai

After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, there was only one national organization that was willing to stand up for the rights of Japanese Americans (JAs). They were the Quakers. Not only did they speak out against the unconstitutional incarceration of JAs … Continue reading →

Posted in Discrimination, History | 7 Comments

The Ruins of Calico’s Chinatown

Posted on January 25, 2012 by tinabot

In my research of Chinese Americans in the Old American West for my Cowboy Ninja book series, I’m digging up a lot of really interesting stuff, and here’s my latest find: the ruins of Calico’s Chinatown. Calico is a Californian … Continue reading →

Posted in Discrimination, History | 14 Comments

Bonnie Tsui & “The Changing Face of America’s Chinatowns”

Posted on January 20, 2012 by tinabot

Bonnie Tsui’s book The Changing Face of America’s Chinatowns is an analysis of the dynamics of Chinatown’s shifting population of immigrants of various Asian heritage origins, including the ones who are economically enticed to go back to their heritage countries. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Business, Education, Family, History | 3 Comments

“The Brady’s and the Dumb Chinaman” Dime Novel Review

Posted on January 12, 2012 by tinabot

In my research on Chinese Americans in the American Old West for a book series I’m writing, I came across a wonderful resource at Stanford University — digital collection of popular dime novels available online. [Editors Note: The book is … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Discrimination, Entertainment, History | 7 Comments

Papa John’s “Lady Chinky Eyes” Incident: What Does “Chink” Even Mean?

Posted on January 11, 2012 by William

Minhee Cho made headlines after ordering pizza from Papa John’s and had her name misspelled as “Lady Chinky Eyes”. While I’m sure American Law gives the benefit of the doubt to the employee to defend herself as a mentally challenged … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events, Discrimination, History, New York | 10 Comments

Internment Camp Musical “Allegiance” To Premiere Next Fall

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Lily

Next September, San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre will host Allegiance, a New American Musical with Asian American all-stars Lea Salonga and George Takei. “Allegiance” is about a Japanese American family forced into internment during World War II. The writers, Jay … Continue reading →

Posted in (simple), Discrimination, Entertainment, History, The Arts | 1 Comment

Civil Rights Hero Gordon Kiyoshi Hirabayashi Passes Away

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Koji Steven Sakai

Most people think that all the Japanese Americans went meekly into the concentration camps during World War II. But that’s far from the truth. In reality, there were some brave individuals that put themselves out there to test the constitutionality … Continue reading →

Posted in Discrimination, History | 1 Comment

70th Anniversary of the Signing of Executive Order 9066

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Koji Steven Sakai

2012 marks the 70th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066. For those of you who don’t know, 9066 was the order that eventually led to the unconstitutional incarceration of the Japanese American during World War II. It was … Continue reading →

Posted in Discrimination, Education, Family, History | 2 Comments

Missing Chapters in Iris Chang’s “The Chinese in America”

Posted on December 20, 2011 by tinabot

Iris Chang’s book The Chinese in America is one of the very few books that chronicles a major Asian American community, the Chinese Americans. Of course, no one book could fully capture the incredible diversity of the Chinese American category … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Discrimination, Education, Family, History | 10 Comments

Famous Pearl Harbor Women Firefighter Photo Not Taken on Pearl Harbor Day

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Ernie

Via Yahoo! News: “A photograph of three women reportedly fighting fires in the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor has been debunked. Katherine Lowe, 96, who is the woman standing second from the right in the picture, says … Continue reading →

Posted in (simple), History | 1 Comment