Recommendation: We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration by Frank Abe, Tamiko Nimura, Matt Sasaki and Ross Ishikawa

We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration 

was written by Frank Abe and Tamiko Nimura and illustrated by Matt Sasaki and Ross Ishikawa.

For me, it was powerful to learn how ordinary Americans of Japanese descent resisted official Japanese-American organizations' recommendations to demonstrate loyalty to the United States, regardless of its treatment of Japanese-Americans.

I urge people to visit the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, California.

It is vital that people learn about the limits of respectability politics.

If you want to read more about these events and even teach about them in a classroom, check out the accompanying curriculum.

Think about this panel the next time your masjid or Muslim association welcomes agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigations or military recruiters. (click to enlarge). If you hear somebody say, "I'm fine with the FBI spying on me. I have nothing to hide.", then lock them in a room & read this to them until they know better.

P.S. Nauseous that U.S. Customs and Border Protection had a recruiting booth at the 2022 Islamic Society of North America Annual Convention.

Recruiting at the Islamic Society of North America annual convention 🗑️ pic.twitter.com/GVbkZUFkQJ

— Climate reparations for the global south 🌏 (@ShabanaMir1) September 5, 2022

Recommendation: "New Kid" by Jerry Craft

Whenever white racist fascists object to a book, I immediately move it to the top of the my to-read list.

NBC News on October 6, 2021 (archived) reported that:

A school district near Houston canceled the appearance of an award-winning children's illustrator and author, whose books tell stories about Black children struggling to fit into unfamiliar settings, amid claims of critical race theory.

The writer, Jerry Craft, had been set to appear virtually Monday before students and staff members at Roosevelt Alexander Elementary School until the Katy Independent School District pulled the plug after some parents objected.

Barefoot Gen Volume One A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima by Keiji Nakazawa

Keiji Nakazawa's semi-autobiographical Japanese comic book series Hadashi no Gen has been translated as Barefoot Gen in a 10-volume series. I read Volume 1, and I have immediately requested Volume 2 from my public library. 

Sometimes it's hard for me to sit in a social gathering listening to "normal" conversation when I think that humans have accumulated enough nuclear weapons to destroy themselves hundreds of times over. I hope I never lose that anxiety, and I don't understand people who are blasé about how close we are to destruction at our own hands.

Review: "When Stars Are Scattered" by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

 

My local independent bookstore & public university featured When Stars Are Scattered authors Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed in a series of author events.

Omar Mohamed related to Ms. Jamieson his experiences and thoughts about his life in the Dadaab Refugee Complex in Kenya. Ms. Jamieson drew sketches and added text in panels, and Iman Geddy added color.

The result is an engaging tale which communicates to readers some aspects of life as refugees. This is particularly important for people in the United States, where refugees are often portrayed as dangerous.

Ms. Jamieson's website has a resource list to learn more about Dadaab's inhabitants.

Omar Mohamed asks that people support his charity, Refugee Strong.

The political radical in me wishes the book dealt with why the civil war in Somalia has continued for so many decades.

I have my prejudices about graphic novels. Are they just a way for illiterate people to say they read books? But then, if the purpose of books is communication, may not images be as or more effective than prose?

Perhaps my prejudice is the result of my perceived inability to draw. With Ms. Jamieson's remote instruction during the Zoom call, I was able to sketch a child running.

I have been supporting American Relief Agency for the Horn of Africa.

Here is the book's trailer: