APA Spotlight
"APA Spotlight" is a regular interview series on 8asians.com by Koji Steven Sakai interviewing Asian American community leaders from around the country.
Check 8asians.com >>
Stories from this series
Rick Shiomi, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Mu Performing Arts
Feb. 8, 2011 • Koji Steven Sakai
Rick Shiomi has been one of the leaders of the Asian American theater movement for over twenty-five years. He is a co-founder of Mu Performing Arts (based in Minneapolis, Minnesota) and has been the Artistic Director since 1993. As a playwright, his plays include the award winning Yellow Fever which played Off Broadway, in Japan and around North America, and many others such as Play Ball, Rosie’s Cafe, Mask Dance and Journey of the Drum. As a director he has …
Ken Tanabe, Loving Day
Jan. 28, 2011 • Koji Steven Sakai
Ken Tanabe is the founder and president of Loving Day. Loving Day is an educational community project that fights racial prejudice through education and builds multicultural community. Loving Day Celebrations commemorate the legalization of interracial couples in America. In 2009, there were Loving Day Celebrations in 31 cities in 3 countries. The celebrations and the LovingDay.org website have been featured in Time, the Washington Post, NPR, BBC World, and many other major national/international media outlets. Ken Tanabe has been an …
Chris Aihara, Japanese American Cultural & Community Center
Jan. 3, 2011 • Koji Steven Sakai
Chris Aihara is the Executive Director of the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC), one of the largest ethnic cultural centers of its kind in the U.S. She was the former Chair of the Little Tokyo Community Council, a member of the Mayor’s Little Tokyo Community Advisory Committee, and member of the California Japanese American Community Leadership Council. She has written several publications on Japanese American culture and has served as a member of the City of Torrance Cultural …
Craig Ishii, Japanese American Citizens League Pacific
Dec. 16, 2010 • Koji Steven Sakai
Craig Ishii is the Regional Director with the Japanese American Citizens League Pacific Southwest District (JACL Pacific Southwest District). Craig is a 2007 graduate of UCLA, majoring in history and economics. He was an active member of the Nikkei Student Union (NSU) at UCLA where he was involved in a variety of cultural, political, and community issues. During his junior and senior years, he served as Internal Vice President and the Board President of the NSU. The mission of the …
