Nakayoshi Young Professionals invite you to join us in helping run our “Nakayoshi Cafe” at the 3rd Annual Northern California Soy and Tofu Festival on June 1st, 2013 in San Francisco’s Japantown (Peace Plaza, Post at Buchanan Streets).  We’ll be selling Mabo Dofu plates and Tofu Sushi with 100% of all proceeds going to the Nichi Bei Foundation, publishers of the Nichi Bei Weekly Japanese American newspaper.

Festival times are from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., but our volunteer shift times span from 8:30 a.m. until 6 p.m.  We’d greatly appreciate if you could stay all day if you can.  Please follow this link to sign up!

We kindly ask volunteers to come prepared with the following:
-apron
-closed-toed shoes
-tie hair back for those with long hair
-hair-net/hat
-also the occasion to sport your Nakayoshi t-shirt if you’ve got one!

For more information, you may reach Erika Shimizu at eks003.  If you’re on Facebook, visit the event page to make the notification on whether you’ll be joining us.  We hope that you will partake in serving our community together and in giving back to this great cause.

Thank you!

-Nakayoshi Core

Today is the 2-year anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake. During this time many fundraising events have been organized from bake sales at local schools to corporate matching programs.  Everytime I walk the halls of the JCCCNC, I’m reminded of how successful their relief fund has been and how much awareness they’ve brought to the tragedy.  Yet there’s still so much to be done.

I was reminded by last week’s SF Chronicle article that little has changed in some areas. Urban areas like Sendai have for the most part recovered. The scene varies in more rural areas like Rikuzentakata and despite its visibility in the media, Fukushima is also a place where things still aren’t much improved.  For every story about the problems at the Fukushima nuclear power plants there are hundreds of communities and people still struggling.

I’ve been fortunate that friends and family in Sendai are safe. We actually had a trip planned for May 2011.  My mother’s hometown of Shiogama had an entirely different feel than all the other times that we’ve visited. The local park where kids used to play was filled with debris, presumably to be sorted, picked up, and hauled away at a later date. We walked by a small shop that my mother had bought from a year ago only to find out that their entire inventory of beverages and snacks were immersed in several feet of water after the tsunami flowed through. Some of the items were sellable but at a fraction of their original price. Our purchases may have helped the shop stay open for another day. But this one purchase isn’t nearly enough for the shopkeeper to rebuild his store and start anew.

My point is that help or support shouldn’t be a one-time event but rather a process. Many times we hear of an issue and help out only to lose track and not follow up. While hundreds of millions of dollars have been raised worldwide for recovery efforts in Japan not everything is whole again. It’s important for us to keep in mind that the recovery efforts are ongoing and that those impacted in Japan still need our help.

The views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the original author and do not necessarily represent those of Nakayoshi Young Professionals, the JACL NCWNP District, or any other contributors to this blog.

The Fred T. Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education is excited to celebrate Korematsu Day 2013 by honoring 16 American civil rights heroes who’ve been long overlooked (see list below). This will be a historic gathering of civil rights heroes and the descendants of heroes who have passed on.

The event also features celebrity emcee DANNY GLOVER, actor, community activist and humanitarian, as well as a special performance by American Idol star and international recording artist JASMINE TRIAS.

WHEN: Sunday, January 27, 2013. 1:00pm VIP reception with honorees, 2:30-4:30pm program
WHERE: Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, CA 94102
TICKETS: Available for purchase at: http://bit.ly/kdayheroestix $100
VIP reception with honorees + program admission $25 program general admission $10 senior (65+)/student/youth admission
WEB SITE: http://FredKorematsuDayHeroes.org/
MORE INFO: email infog or call 415-848-7737

HONOREES:

1. FRED KOREMATSU: Plaintiff who challenged the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans in the US Supreme Court. Karen Korematsu will represent her father at the event.

2. GRACE LEE BOGGS: Chinese American grassroots activist for pan-ethnic social justice movements. Ms. Boggs is unable to attend the event.

3. MITSUYE ENDO: Plaintiff who challenged the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans in the US Supreme Court. Wayne Tsutsumi and Wendy Weiner will represent their mother at the event.

4. FILIPINO WWII VETERANOS: Filipino soldiers who fought for the US against Japanese forces during WWII but were later denied US military benefits. Veterano Alberto Saldajeno will represent this honoree group at the event.

5. GORDON HIRABAYASHI: Plaintiff who challenged the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans in the US Supreme Court. Jay Hirabayashi will represent his father at the event.

6. INTERNMENT DISSENTERS: “No Nos,” draft resisters and renunciants who challenged the WWII incarceration and mistreatment of Japanese Americans. “No-No” Hiroshi Kashiwagi will represent this honoree group at the event.

7. LARRY ITLIONG: Filipino American organizer and coalition builder in California’s farm labor movement. Johnny Itliong will represent his father at the event.

8. JAPANESE AMERICAN WWII VETERANS: Soldiers who fought bravely in segregated WWII military units in the face of racism at home. MIS veteran Asa Hanamoto will represent this honoree group at the event.

9. YURI KOCHIYAMA: Japanese American grassroots activist for pan-ethnic social justice movements. Audee Kochiyama-Holman will represent her mother at the event.

10. QUEEN LILI‘UOKALANI: Last reigning monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii and advocate for Hawaiian sovereignty. The Queen’s descendants will not be attending the event.

11. DOLLAR STORE STRIKERS: Women labor activists who launched one of the longest-running strikes in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Mervyn Lee, son of striker Sue Koh Lee, will represent this honoree group at the event.

12. MAMIE TAPE: Chinese American child plaintiff in landmark case reinforcing equal access to education. Alisa Kim will represent her aunt at the event.

13. BHAGAT SINGH THIND: Sikh American plaintiff in US Supreme Court case examining race-based citizenship. David Bhagat Thind will represent his father at the event.

14. PHILIP VERA CRUZ: Filipino American founding member of the United Farm Workers and defender of workers’ rights. Fernando Gapasin will represent his uncle at the event.

15. WONG KIM ARK: Chinese American plaintiff in US Supreme Court case affirming birthright citizenship. The Wong family has not confirmed if they will attend the event

16. MIN YASUI: Plaintiff who challenged the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans in the US Supreme Court. Serena Hawkins-Schletzbaum and Chani Hawkins-Walker will represent their grandfather at the event.

If you know any living members of the group honorees (Internment Dissenters, 1938 Chinatown Dollar Store Strikers, Japanese American WWII Veterans, or Filipino American Veteranos), please have them call us at 415-848-7737 or infog to receive complimentary tickets!

MEDIA CO-SPONSORS: Angry Asian Man, APEX Express, KPFA 94.1FM, AsianWeek Foundation, Diya TV, Japanese City, KAXT Channel 1, Nichi Bei Weekly, Philippine News, Radio Campesina, Rafu Shimpo