Nisei girls and young women played vital roles in the Japanese American community in prewar Los Angeles, working in the family economy and serving as cultural mediators. Because, like other youth of color, they were unwelcome in many school clubs and activities during the 1920s and 30s, they formed an extensive network of ethnic youth clubs through which they could enjoy parties, dancing, and sports, as well as gain leadership training. For urban Nisei, clubs offered a haven of belonging in an era of racial exclusion and a vehicle through which girls could demonstrate American identity and claim modern femininity. Their organizational skills would prove important to the rebuilding of Japanese American communities after the uprooting and incarceration of WWII.  

Join us as author Valerie J. Matsumoto discusses her work, City Girls: The Nisei Social World in Los Angeles, 1920-1950. She will be available for book signing following the presentation.   

Cost: Free with admission to the museum (non-members, $5; students and seniors over age 65, $3; JAMsj members and children under 12, free) . 

Contact PublicPrograms@jamsj.org or call (408) 294-3138 to reserve a spot.