Ishizuka to Discuss ‘Serve the People’ at JANM

A discussion with Karen Ishizuka, author of “Serve the People: Making Asian America in the Long Sixties” and an activist panel will be presented on Saturday, June 18, at 2 p.m. at the Japanese American National Museum, 100 N. Central Ave. in Little Tokyo.

Karen Ishizuka

“Serve the People” tells the story of the social and cultural movement that knit disparate communities of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans into a political identity. Drawing on more than 120 interviews and illustrated with striking images from guerrilla publications, the book’s vivid narrative reveals the personal epiphanies and intimate stories of insurgent movers and shakers and ground-level activists alike.

The book, which is available at the JANM Store, paints a panoramic landscape of a radical time and aims to be the definitive history of Asian American political consciousness.

Recently honored at JANM’s 2016 Gala Dinner for her pioneering work in establishing the museum’s moving image collection and its Frank H. Watase Media Arts Center, author Ishizuka will lead a panel discussion on the Asian American movement in Los Angeles.

Featured will be three activists included in her book: Warren T. Furutani, an educator and politician who is currently in the running for California state senator; Mike Murase, attorney, current director of service programs for the Little Tokyo Service Center, and co-founder of the UCLA Asian American Studies Center; and Qris Yamashita, a graphic designer and artist whose unique graphic style helped to form a visual identity for the Japanese American and Asian Pacific American community.

Also joining the panel will be traci kato-kiriyama, artist, educator, community organizer, and co-founder of Tuesday Night Project, a free public program dedicated to presenting AAPI artists and community organizations.

Free with museum admission. RSVPs are recommended. For more information, call (213) 625-0414 or visit www.janm.org.