SF Japanese American Community 'Day of Remembrance' 2007 builds unity; Lessons from the Redress Movement

I have been attending Day of Remembrance celebrations since 1984 when I worked with NCRR [then the National Coalition for Redress/Reparations], the Asian Student Union at SF State and APSU [the west coast's Asian Pacific Islander Student Union] to demand reparations for Japanese Americans interned during WWII. For over 27 years, NCRR [now called Nikei for Civil Rights and Redress and based in LA] and others have been using Day of Remembrance events to build multiracial unity among communities and to raise awareness of struggles for civil rights and equality in America.

This week the SF Board of Education passed a resolution I authored which commits our school district to continue our support of the DOR Consortium in its ongoing work:

WHEREAS: The annual Day of Remembrance programs provide our schools and communities a valuable teaching moment of opportunity for students, parents, teachers and all people to reflect on the importance of social justice and civil liberties, especially in times of war and crisis.

WHEREAS: For over 25 years the Bay Area Day of Remembrance Consortium or its predecessor member organizations have presented an annual “Day of Remembrance” program, pursuing the following broad goals:
- To honor and remember the courage and perseverance of those who experienced this grave injustice; ...; and raise awareness of related injustices suffered by other communities (i.e. Japanese Latin Americans, German and Italian Americans) during World War II; ...To do all we can to prevent and/or speak out against similar injustices experienced by other communities, such as Arab and Muslim American communities currently; and To build cultural bridges and mutual understanding. ..

For 2007, the Bay Area Day of Remembrance Consortium presents
Carrying the Light for Justice
DAY OF REMEMBRANCE 2007
Continuing to Build Communities
Saturday, February 17, 2007 2 p.m.Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Northern California1840 Sutter Street (nr. Webster), SF Japantown
Tickets; $15 Door, $12 Advance, Call for group ratesTix/Info: 415.921.5007
Keynote Speaker: Philip Gotanda, author/playwright
Guest Speaker: Samina F. Sundas - American Muslim Voice
Campaign for Justice - Redress Update
Films: Pilgrimage by Tad Nakamura
Meeting at Tule Lake by Anders Tomlinson
Excerpt reading from After the War, a play by Philip Gotanda
Candle Lighting Ceremony
Cultural Performances:Susumu Saiki (shigin), Mas Koga (shakuhachi), and Genyukai (sanshin)
Interfaith Candle Lighting & Reception to follow
Bay Area DOR Consortium:Asian Improv aRts, Asian Law Caucus, API Legal Outreach, Campaign for Justice - Redress Now for Japanese Latin Americans, Center for Asian American Media (formerly NAATA), JACL-SF Chapter, Jam Workshop, Japanese American Religious Federation, Japanese Community Youth Council, Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, Japanese Peruvian Oral History Project, National Japanese American Historical Society, National Coalition for Redress/Reparations, Tule Lake Committee, UC Berkeley Nikkei Student Union (partial list)

More info on SF DOR program
LA info - NCRR - Nikei for Civil Rights and Redress

History of NCRR and Reparations from www.AAMOVEMENT.NET
NCRR's original 1980 principles of unity
Merilyn Hamano Quon's history of JA activism and movement building in LA
Ray Tasaki's summation of the JTown Collective and JA activism in SF/San Jose Bay Area