DiscoverNikkei.org presents...

FROM ONE GENERATION TO THE NEXT
Families Intersecting with History

Saturday, May 17, 2008
2–4 PM

An inspiring conversation with Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga, with her daughter and son-in-law Lisa and Warren Furutani and their sons Joey and Sei, who share their involvement in the community from redress to public service to grass-roots organization. Moderated by Prof. Mitchell Maki.

Japanese American National Museum
369 East First Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

FREE with Museum admission. RSVP required to 213.625.0414 ext. 2227 or rsvp@janm.org (subject: Redress program – May 17).

This program is presented in conjunction with the National Museum’s 2008 public program series—Redress Remembered: A Moment of National Redemption—which commemorates the 20th Anniversary of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, Discover Nikkei, and Nikkei Community Day. Discover Nikkei, a project of the Japanese American National Museum, is made possible through the generous support of The Nippon Foundation.

[inline:May17programphoto-sm.jpg]PANELIST BIOS:
Mitchell T. Maki is the dean of the college of Health and Human Services at California State University, Dominguez Hills. A licensed clinical social worker, Maki earned his Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs, Master of Social Work, and Ph.D. in social work from the University of Southern California. Maki has spoken on numerous occasions to groups interested in the redress movement and is recognized as one of the leading scholars on the Japanese American redress movement. He is a co-author of an award-winning book, Achieving the Impossible Dream: How Japanese Americans Obtained Redress (1999, University of Illinois Press).

Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga played a pivotal role in both the coram nobis cases, NCJAR’s lawsuit, and the redress campaign through her historic research at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., including as the senior research associate for the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) hearings. She worked as a consultant and researcher for the Office of Redress Administration of the Department of Justice in the 1990s to help verify the eligibility of Japanese Americans for reparations. She is retired and living in Gardena.

Warren Furutani is the State Assemblymember for California’s 55th District. For over 35 years in public service and community involvement, he has been recognized as a civil rights advocate for the Asian American community. Among some of his achievements, Furutani was the first Asian Pacific American elected to the Los Angeles Unified School District in 1987 and has labored to establish admissions programs for minority students at colleges and universities.

Lisa Abe Furutani was born in a U.S. Army hospital in Kyoto, Japan where her father was stationed during the Korean War. She was raised by her mother, Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga, in Manhattan, NYC. She moved to Los Angeles in 1974. She married Warren Furutani in 1980. They have two sons, Sei and Joey.

Sei Furutani is a graduate student in the Sport Management Master’s program at CSULB to prepare for a career as a collegiate athletic director. Graduated in 2004 from UC Irvine with a degree in Criminology, Law, and Society. Worked at Gruen Associates, a Los Angeles-based architecture firm for three years as an Assistant Project Manager after graduation.

Joey Tadashi Furutani was born and raised in Gardena, California and is a product of the Los Angeles public school system but remained steadfast in his commitment to the JA community. Joey’s involvement in the JA community includes the coordination of a high school conference (2000) on the JA camp experience and field trip to Manzanar (2001) through a grant from the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program (CCLPEP). Currently, he serves as the Co-Director of Camp Musubi, a weeklong day camp for middle school kids that focuses on JA culture and heritage. Joey graduated from UCLA in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Asian American Studies. He currently is the Account Coordinator at Nakatomi & Associates, a public relations firm in Santa Monica.