[Sosfbay-news] Fwd: 35th Annual San Jose Day of Remembrance: Sunfsy February 15th 5:30-7:30 pm

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____________________________________
 From: sjnoc at sjnoc.org
To: wsb3attyca at aol.com
Sent: 1/23/2015 9:59:29  P.M. Pacific Standard Time
Subj: 35th Annual San Jose Day of Remembrance:  Stories from the Past, 
Lessons for Today


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NOC NEWS 
Nihonmachi Outreach Committee (NOC)
Equality, Justice and Peace  
_www.sjnoc.org_ (http://t.ymlp342.net/wssafauqbyjaiaeseagaubm/click.php)   
 (http://t.ymlp342.net/hyyarauqbyjataeseaxaubm/click.php)                
35th Annual San Jose 
Day of  Remembrance    "Stories from   the Past, 
Lessons for Today"    Sunday, February 15,  2015
5:30pm-7:30pm
San Jose Buddhist Church  Betsuin
640 North Fifth Street, 
San Jose,  CA    Free and  open to the  public          
 
 
    The _2015  San Jose Day of Remembrance_ 
(http://t.ymlp342.net/wssafauqbyjaiaeseagaubm/click.php)  commemorates the  signing of _Executive  Order 
9066_ (http://t.ymlp342.net/wsuacauqbyjataeseapaubm/click.php) , which 
eventually led to the  incarceration of 120,000 people of Japanese descent  during 
WW II. Each year, people from diverse                           communities 
gather at this event to remember that  great civil liberties tragedy and 
reflect on what that  event means to them today.

The 35th annual Day  of Remembrance program, titled “Stories from the  
Past, Lessons for Today,” explores personal  stories that have been passed down 
by those who were  adversely affected by the executive order and the  
lessons that have been extracted from that  experience.

Tom Izu,  Executive Director of the _California  History Center (CHC) at De 
Anza College_ (http://t.ymlp342.net/wseaiauqbyjacaeseadaubm/click.php)   
and  the _Audrey  Edna Butcher Civil Liberties Education Initiative_ 
(http://t.ymlp342.net/wsmanauqbyjaxaeseaaaubm/click.php) ,  will be the keynote 
speaker at the San Jose Day of  Remembrance event.  As director of the CHC, Izu  
emphasizes that a major component of his work is to  promote the importance 
of learning about local and  regional history and the lessons that can be 
learned  from that history. In communicating that history, Izu  recognizes the 
great value of oral history and  storytelling.  Izu  reflected on how 
people, especially young people, can  viscerally connect and understand the 
difficult  societal challenges and concepts from events that took  place several 
decades before many of them were born.  “I have learned that these stories 
transmitted down  through the generations document not just important  
historical information -- that otherwise would be lost  -- but also make it 
possible for all of us to  personally connect with that history, making it a  ‘
living’ history.”

Izu is very aware about the  power of oral histories through his own 
experience and  how they can help propel a grassroots movement toward  achieving 
social justice. In the early 1980’s, Izu  became the first “official” 
chairperson of _Nihonmachi  Outreach Committee (NOC)_ 
(http://t.ymlp342.net/wssafauqbyjaiaeseagaubm/click.php)  at a time when the  organization decided to 
become heavily involved in the  _Japanese  American redress movement_ 
(http://t.ymlp342.net/wsjaoauqbyjagaeseaaaubm/click.php) . During the early days,  
support for redress was not widespread and there were  many prominent voices 
in the local Japanese American  community who were reticent in supporting 
the  movement. During the redress hearings, NOC encouraged,  supported, and 
prepared former incarcerees so that  they could finally tell their emotional,  
heart-breaking stories to the commissioners and to the  public. Many people 
heard those gripping stories of  hardship for the first time, and many more 
people  started to embrace the cause.

“Stories are  transformative in how they can be integrated into our  own 
identity through their ability to create  tremendous empathy, “ Izu said. “
They can also be a  powerful way to build support and involvement in the  
movement for social justice.”

Izu is concerned  about how Japanese American internment is examined in  
the present and about what lessons people extract from  that experience. “My 
main concern right now is whether  the Japanese American experience is being 
made into an  example of ‘American exceptionalism’ with Japanese  Americans 
being considered ‘special’ since they  ‘deserved redress.’ I would rather 
have people learn  the lesson that civil liberties need to be protected  
for all people. The liberties and rights one has under  the Constitution are 
not based upon how ‘deserving’  one is, or how loyally one acts. These 
rights are  guaranteed to all.”

“There is a key lesson,”  Izu continued, “regarding the true meaning of 
civil  liberties that we must learn. It is very relevant for  today, including 
everything from Ferguson to the  treatment of Muslim Americans. A certain 
level of  bravery and courage is required to fight for this.  That is true 
patriotism and not the scapegoating or  fear mongering that seems to remain 
popular in our  country's politics today.”


Tom Izu is  currently executive director of the _California  History Center 
(CHC) at De Anza College_ 
(http://t.ymlp342.net/wsbarauqbyjalaeseaxaubm/click.php)   and the _Audrey  Edna Butcher Civil Liberties Education  
Initiative_ (http://t.ymlp342.net/wsmanauqbyjaxaeseaaaubm/click.php) ,  He has served 
in the  San Jose community in many prominent roles. He was the  executive 
director of YuAi Kai, a senior service  center; NOC chairperson, and he 
served as a board  member for  the _San  Jose chapter of the Japanese American 
Citizen  League_ (http://t.ymlp342.net/wshatauqbyjaiaesearaubm/click.php)   
and the Japanese American  Resource Center (now, the _Japanese  American 
Museum of San Jose_ (http://t.ymlp342.net/wswakauqbyjazaeseaxaubm/click.php) ).   
  Featured  Speakers     Kent Carson       Kent Carson is a volunteer  
docent with the _Japanese  American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj)_ 
(http://t.ymlp342.net/wswakauqbyjazaeseaxaubm/click.php) . Carson will  recount the story of 
his grandfather, Terry Terakawa,  who is also an active volunteer and a 
former board  member of JAMsj.

Recently, Carson transcribed  his grandfather’s story about what happened 
to his  family after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.  After the attack, 
prominent members of the Japanese  American community were immediately 
rounded up without  due process and taken away._Read  More..._ 
(http://t.ymlp342.net/wsqapauqbyjakaeseafaubm/click.php)   Kent  Carson, stands before a 
portrait of his grandfather,  Terry Terakawa. Terakawa is featured in the new  
exhibit, “Twice Heroes," at the _Japanese  American Museum of San Jose_ 
(http://t.ymlp342.net/wswakauqbyjazaeseaxaubm/click.php) .      Congressman Mike  
Honda          (http://t.ymlp342.net/wsyazauqbyjazaeseaxaubm/click.php)  
U.S. Congressman Michael  Honda represents the 17th Congressional District  of 
California and has served in the U.S. House  of Representatives for over 
fourteen years. In  Congress, Representative Honda is a member of  the powerful 
House Appropriations Committee,  Chair Emeritus of the Congressional Asian  
Pacific American Caucus, Co-chair of the  Democratic Caucus’ New Media 
Working Group, and  House Democratic Senior Whip.

Representative  Mike Honda was born in California, but spent his  early 
childhood with family in the Amache  internment camp in Colorado during World 
War II.  Mike’s father served in the Military  Intelligence Service, while 
his mother served as  a full time homemaker. His family returned to  
California in 1953, becoming strawberry  sharecroppers in San José's Blossom Valley. 
In  1965, Mike enrolled in the Peace Corps for two  years in El Salvador and 
returned fluent in  Spanish and with a passion for teaching.  

In his career as an educator, Mike was a  science teacher, served as a 
principal at two  public schools, and conducted educational  research at 
Stanford University. In 1971, Mike  was appointed by then-Mayor Norm Mineta to San  
Jose's Planning Commission. In 1981, Mike won  his first election, gaining 
a seat on the San  José Unified School Board. In 1990, Mike was  elected to 
the Santa Clara County Board of  Supervisors. Mike served in the California 
State  Assembly from 1996 to 2000. In 2000, Mike was  elected to the U.S. 
House of Representatives. He  is currently the Chairman Emeritus of the  
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus  (CAPAC) after spending seven years 
as  Chairman.

Mike’s district includes  Silicon Valley, the birthplace of technology  
innovation and now the country’s leading  developer of green technology. Mike 
has  dedicated his life to public service and is  lauded for his work on 
education, civil rights,  national service, immigration, transportation,  the 
environment, and high-tech  issues.



 
____________________________________

The Day of Remembrance is an event that aims to bring  different 
communities together in order to build trust,  respect, and understanding among all 
people and to renew our  pledge to fight for equality, justice, and peace.  
  The event also features  the famous candlelight procession through 
historic San  Jose Japantown and an electrifying performance by _San  Jose Taiko_ 
(http://t.ymlp342.net/wusanauqbyjagaeseapaubm/click.php) .        
Traditional candlelight  procession through San Jose's historic Japantown.  Photo 
courtesy of Andy Frazer.  A candle is lit in memory for each  of the camps.
Photo  courtesy of Andy  Frazer.            
____________________________________
        San Jose Nihonmachi Outreach Committee (NOC)
P.O.  Box 2293, San Jose, CA  95109  
E-Mail: _info at sjnoc.org_ (mailto:info at sjnoc.org) 
Website:  _www.sjnoc.org_ 
(http://t.ymlp342.net/wssafauqbyjaiaeseagaubm/click.php)   
"In the End, we will remember not the words of  our enemies, but the 
silence of our  friends."
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 
  
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