Stuff contributed by Greg
T. John Fujii: Expatriate or Collaborator? - Part 1
Greg Robinson
The story of Tatsuki John Fujii, a journeyman writer and journalist who was one of the earliest Nisei book authors, offers a rich illustration of the international connections (and complications) of Japanese Americans.
A Union of Artists: Kimi Gengo and Bunji Tagawa - Part 1
Greg Robinson
One useful study for understanding Japanese American history would focus on “power couples,” that is, spouses or long-term romantic partners who are both accomplished figures in their own right. Perhaps the classic case in this regard is that of the Inouyes. Daniel Inouye was U.S. Senator from Hawaii for half …
John McGilvrey Maki: A friendly Reminiscence
Greg Robinson
It was April 2004. I was attending an event at Columbia University in New York City. The organizers allotted us some extra time during the lunch break, and so I decided to go off and take a walk. I had worked at Columbia a decade earlier, and it was fun …
Leonard Broom (AKA Leonard Bloom): Scholar/Activist and Defender of Japanese Americans - Part 2
Greg Robinson
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Leonard Broom (AKA Leonard Bloom): Scholar/Activist and Defender of Japanese Americans - Part 1
Greg Robinson
As is well known, in the wake of Executive Order 9066 and the roundup and confinement of West Coast Japanese Americans, a group of scholars and researchers at University of California, Berkeley created the Japanese American Evacuation and Resettlement Study, a multidisciplinary academic study on the migration, confinement, and resettlement …
Seeking Will Thomas: An African American friend to the Nisei
Greg Robinson
Beginning in the last decades of the 20th century, the Asian American experience became a topic of interest in mainstream American society, and in the process was enshrined in the nation’s literary production. Books by authors of all backgrounds were published and authors such as Amy Tan, Jhumpa Lahiri, and …
Way Down in Egypt Land: Tamio Wakayama, Civil Rights Photographer - Part 2
Greg Robinson
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Way Down in Egypt Land: Tamio Wakayama, Civil Rights Photographer - Part 1
Greg Robinson
In the column I wrote some time ago on the Nisei photographer Yoichi Okamoto, who served as official photographer in the White House during the administration of Lyndon B. Johnson, I spoke about how his photographs go beyond political propaganda and shine as both art and history. This is, if …
The Canadian Japanese Mennonite Scholarship: In support of Reconciliation
Greg Robinson, Zacharie Leclair
The wartime confinement of Japanese Canadians is a landmark in the history of civil rights and race relations nationwide. Like their counterparts south of the border, 22,000 Canadian residents of Japanese ancestry suffered official wartime removal and mass confinement. In addition, their land and personal property were confiscated by Canada’s …