Fighting for Civil Rights, the Japanese-American and Latino Experience
Sunday, February 21, 2010, 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Portland State University, George C. Hoffmann Hall
1833 SW 11th Avenue
Free and open to the public

SPONSORED BY PORTLAND JACL AND
PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY’S OFFICE OF DIVERSITY AND EQUITY

From concentration camps to anti-immigrant prejudice, American civil liberties
have been compromised over the years. Learn the challenges of
Japanese Americans and Latinos and find out how we can learn from those
experiences.

The short film, Stand Up for Justice: The Ralph Lazo Story , will be shown. The
film tells the story of a young Latino who followed his Japanese American
friends to Manzanar Internment Camp.

Leaders from the Latino and Japanese American communities will discuss parallel civil rights challenges and lessons learned. Scheduled speakers:

• Mari Watanabe , Executive Director of Oregon Nikkei Endowment, will provide the historical background of Executive Order 9066, which ordered the evacuation of all persons of Japanese descent from the West Coast.
• Alice Sumida , a longtime Portland resident, will tell her unique experience during internment.
• Henry Sakamoto , President of the Japanese Ancestral Society of Portland, will discuss his internment experience.
• Gilbert Carrasco , Willamette University Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Sexuality and Discrimination professor and member of the Oregon Commission on Hispanic Affairs, will speak on Latino issues.
• Martin Gonzalez , Limited English Proficiency Outreach Coordinator with Tri-Met, Portland Public Schools board member, and Board President of the Latino Network, will speak on Latino issues.