Japanese American Historical Society of Southern California's Final Program - Oct. 25

Excited to participate in the Japanese American Historical Society of So. California's last public program on Saturday, October 25th in Torrance, CA. JAHSSC and Iku Kiriyama have been one of the biggest supporters of my films from day one.

The event will focus on "the future of Japanese American community engagement and activism" as different pairs of community members will pose questions to each other. The pairs will be:
Professors Glenn Omatsu & Allan Aquino
Community organizers Kristin Fukushima & Evelyn Yoshimura
Me & my mom Karen Ishizuka

The event is being organized by Traci Akemi Kato-kiriyama and her mom Iku and will be emceed by Sean Miura and Kathy Masaoka.

Yuri Kochiyama Tribute Video

I had the honor of creating the tribute video for the Yuri Kochiyama memorials held in Oakland, LA and NY. Family and friends provided the photos and Blue Scholars provided the track. Yuri was a hero of mine and a great family friend, as are all members of the Kochiyama family. Her passion and commitment to the liberation of all peoples continues to inspire my work. 

$1 billion in Cali cuts

I've spent just as much time as you have reading and debating the numbers and future of CP3. Let's just make the same effort to be informed about the numbers and future of our own families.

$330 million will be cut from schools, $100 million from workers who care for the elderly and $100 mil from UC/Cal States, on top of the $650 million already cut this year!

Read the LA Times article here: $1 billion in California budget cuts to kick in soon

Anti-Musilim Hate Rally in Orange County

Like most of you, I run on inspiration. Inspiration to continue the work that is already being done and inspiration to dedicate more of my time and energy to strengthen the progressive movement that has been built. The wave of mass protests and uprisings in the Arab world and the stone-cold strength of the workers and allies in Wisconsin have reminded me that we are indeed living in a definitive moment of our generation. But just as I get empowered by watching thousands scream truth to power, the rage I get when watching something like this is also energizing, and in a way, inspiring.

Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) recently posted this video of an anti-Muslim rally at a fundraiser in Orange County on Feb. 13, 2011. To be blunt, the people in this video and the ignorant hate they spit is fucking disgusting. It's a trip to think that the day this video was shot, I was in Chicago participating in a Day of Remembrance event discussing the parallels between the WWII Japanese American experience and today's hateful environment.

VIDEO REMOVED FROM YOUTUBE BUT CAN BE VIEWED HERE

What got me so heated was seeing the faces of the parents walking with their kids. Those images hit home to everyone in a different way but I'm sure they hit hard. Like the people in this video, those who are under constant attack need to know we're here to jump-in and fight with them.

Youtube Video of the Week: Wisconsin "Budget Repair Bill" Protest

An inspiring video of last weeks protests in Madison, WI by Matthew Wisniewski. Read all the comments this video has been receiving.

Arizona's SB 1611

The details of proposed Arizona bill SB1611 are disgusting:

"The bill, which the state senator called an “omnibus” immigration bill, the Arizona Capitol Times reported, would bar children from K-12 education if they couldn’t produce a U.S.-issued birth certificate or naturalization document. It would forbid undocumented immigrants from driving in the state or accessing public benefits. Folks who are caught driving would face a month of jail time and would have to turn over the car they’re driving."

Read article about SB 1611 in Colorlines HERE.

Single mom convicted of felony for sending kids to a better school

This such bullshit, single mother Kelley Williams-Bolar of Akron, Ohio was sentenced with a felony for sending her 2 kids to a better school outside their district?! Half of my friends growing up did this in order to go to better, safer schools.

Read more & sign petition HERE.

Egypt 101

Read this blog post on promotingpeace.tumblr if you are like me and really need a basic explanation of what's going on Egypt.

Then watch or read Al Jazeera English to keep up with what is going on.

In solidarity with the people of Egypt and their struggle for freedom!

Full benefits for all Veterans

Today we celebrate Veteran's Day in a country that spends millions on TV commercials saluting veterans but denies most of them the health benefits that they need. Vets deserve better. Watch the congressional testimony by Sgt. Chuck Luther, wounded in Iraq and then tortured by his own until he signed paperwork saying his problems were caused by a personality disorder:

Inspiration of the Week: Jeff Chang

"Electoral politics is episodic, short-term, and transactional. Movement-building must be constant, long-term, and transformative. It is not a cyclical task. It is work that reaches toward the horizon."

I am on of the many young (well, not like young young) people that found themselves pretty uninvolved in Tuesdays elections but depressed by the results. As someone who feels pretty detached from state and national electoral politics, I'm always half concerned about election results because I know they will have direct impacts on me and people who I care about, and half indifferent because I feel I have no real control over their outcome. But reading Jeff Chang's recent interview in Colorlines really made me feel included in "the new cultural majority" and helped provide some location in the national progressive movement building process.

"Cultural change is often the dress-rehearsal for political change. Or put in another way, political change is the final manifestation of cultural shifts that have already occurred.

Sadly most progressives—whether they work in electoral politics or movement politics—have not yet figured culture into their theory of change. Unlike the right, they have no cultural strategy."

NPR - Prison Economics Help Drive Ariz. Immigration Law

Morning Edition on NPR recently produced a great piece uncovering the direct relationship between Arizona Senate Bill 1070 and the prison industry. They also explain the secretive group called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the power it holds on state and federal legislation.

Listen to the podcast or read the article here.

The Case for Community-Owned Bay Area Sports

"How much longer are we going to take being held hostage by shady, out of touch owners who don’t care about the communities where the teams reside? It’s time to take our teams back. It’s time to talk about municipalization."

The homie Kori Chen teamed up with his friend James Tracy to write a great article titled The Case for Community-Owned Bay Area Sports. Kori loves sports, loves The Town, and is a dedicated community organizer, all of which he exhibits in his article. On top of all that, the brotha gots vision. Hopefully we'll be reading more articles from him in the future.

Rage Against SB 1070

Today the racist Arizona law SB1070 goes into law. Last Friday Rage Against the Machine performed at a benefit concert to raise money for two Arizona organizations fighting SB 1070; Puente, Arizona and The Florence Project. My old college roomie Jeff got me a ticket and needless to say, it was fucking amazing!

Here's an example how Rage front-man Zack de la Rocha was able to tie every song to the blatant racism that is going on in Arizona...


I got a call from Jeff the next day that started with "Dude, my neck is sore".

Ill Doctrine: T-Pain and the Know Nothing Know-It-Alls

(Via Jay Smooth) Just when I thought I couldn't lose any more respect for T-Painful:

In Memory of Tam Tran and Cinthya Felix

Before she was taken away from us, Tam Tran left an imprint on this earth, leaving cracks in this broken-ass US immigration system. Tonight at the packed memorial for Tam and Cinthya Felix, we collectively realized that those cracks will continue to grow and widen as the organized fire that Tam and Cinthya sparked will burn in all of us until the DREAM act is passed and undocumented workers and students receive the full rights and protection of citizenship. Loteria Chicana provides a detailed account of the memorial.



I met Tam when she was a students in the EthnoCommunications program at UCLA. Through the process of making her film Seattle Underground Railroad, I got schooled on the experience of the undocumented student, as well as, Tam's own dedication as leader and filmmaker within the AB540 student community.

Here's a video that features both Tam and Cinthya:


Tam and Cinthya, thank you for all the work and leadership you provided us in such a short amount of time. Rest In Power!

Let's Go Los Suns! Yeah, I said it!

For me, the most interesting events are when the world of sports and issues of social justice collide. For this reason, Dave Zirin is by far my favorite sports journalist. So when Arizona signed SB1070 into law during the NBA playoffs, I knew Dave would not disappoint me.

I've hated the Phoenix Suns for so long that when I heard they were going to wear their "Los Suns" jerseys in protest of SB1070 I thought it was just a PR gimmick since they had already planned to wear the same jerseys because of Cinco de Mayo. But after reading Dave's article A New Era: Here Come The Suns, I gained much more respect for the whole organization, from management to the players.

"I think the law is very misguided. I think it is unfortunately to the detriment to our society and our civil liberties and I think it is very important for us to stand up for things we believe in. I think the law obviously can target opportunities for racial profiling. Things we don't want to see and don't need to see in 2010." - Los Suns' Steve Nash

In his follow-up article Los Suns Also Rise, Dave explains the significance of Phoenix's win over San Antonio and the larger meaning it had for the sports world. Now as a Laker fan, I compare Nash's quote above to what Phil had to say on the racist bill...

"If I heard it right the American people are really for stronger immigration laws.... I don't think teams should get involved in the political stuff." - Laker Coach Phil Jackson

The Lakers are still my team, but that doesn't mean I can't criticize them. Phil's conservative statements on SB1070 was the deal breaker for me. I'm not turning my back on my team forever, but in support of Phoenix's actions and in disappointment for Phil's blatant criticism of that action, for the 2010 Western Conference Finals only, I will be rooting for Los Sun!

Repeal SB 1070!

Due to the passing of SB 1070 in Arizona:
*Criminalization of all undocumented immigrants as "trespassers" in the state of Arizona. All undocumented workers and their families are subjected to arrest and conviction for misdemeanors, and in some cases felony charges for the new crime of "trespass".

*Legalization of unchecked racial profiling by police of anyone they "suspect" is undocumented.

*Police now have the authority to enforce federal immigration law and arrest people who cannot produce identification proving their legal residency in the U.S.

*Makes seeking work illegal for day laborers and forces all individuals, regardless of immigration status or citizenship, to carry identification papers or be subjected to detention and even deportation.

National Day of Action to Defend Public Education

Here's a couple of photos from the March 4th National Day of Action to Defend Public Education:

Rallies, marches and building takeovers popped off in cities and campuses all over the country. I took a long lunch break and hit the streets of Downtown LA:


Met up with director Eric Tandoc and the Shining Sons, a rap duo (and twin brothers) who attend Long Beach Poly HS.


As always, the homie Bev and the rest of the AnakBayan LA crew were holing it down:

Keith Olbermann's Response to Robertson & Limbaugh

Utilize that white privilege Keith, u-til-lize it!

Is a $2 Mili Laker Parade Worth It?

as happy as i am that the lakers have once again reclaimed the nba title, i can't say that this nba season (as great as it was) has gotten my mind of our plummeting economy and cali's ridiculous $24 BILLION state deficit.

i agree that LA desperately needs something that we can collectively celebrate and the lakers championship couldn't come at a better time. but $2 million for a 3 hour parade? i still don't know how i feel about this since our tax money is supposively only paying for half of the $1 million that the city is responsible for (2 hecka rich white men are paying for the other half). read more about the issue here and here.

sportswriter dave zirin gives us another reason why we should celebrate the lakers victory as he exposes the crookedness of the magic's owner and billionaire richard devos.

-tadillac