Join the Little Tokyo Historical Society (LTHS) in celebrating the release of “A Rebel’s Outcry” on Tuesday, Nov. 2, at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, 244 S. San Pedro St. in Little Tokyo.
Registration and reception at 5:30 p.m.; program, panel and Q&A at 6 p.m.; book-signing and meet-and-greet at 8 p.m. Food and refreshments will be available.
“A Rebel’s Outcry” is a biography of Issei civil rights leader Sei Fujii (1882-1954). Through source material, including a recently unearthed biography originally written in Japanese, historical photographs, and art, the book details Fujii’s lifelong fight against xenophobia and discrimination in Southern California and his work as a social justice activist, unionizer and community leader.
This publication, a passion project of Jeffrey Gee Chin and Fumiko Carole Fujita for over a decade, is based on the official biography of Fujii, “Rafu Gigyu Ondo” (1983) by Kenichi Sato, who was commissioned by **The Kashu Mainichi** (California Daily News). The text was translated by Saeko Higa-Dickinson and edited by Naomi Hirahara, with layouts by Amy Inouye and original artwork by Takashi Uchida.
The panel will include esteemed historians, community activists/preservationists, and acclaimed filmmakers. The program will be complemented by a meet-and-greet with Fujii’s law partner J. Marion Wright’s granddaughter and family, along with the team involved with the publication of the book and the posthumous law license recently granted to Fujii. He was denied a license because he was an immigrant from Japan.
To learn more about Fujii and to pre-order a copy of “A Rebel’s Outcry,” visit the Little Tokyo Historical Society website, www.littletokyohs.org. Also, follow the LTHS Instagram and Facebook pages for updated information about upcoming book events.
Publication of this book is sponsored by Union Bank, UCLA Asian American Studies Center and the George and Sakaye Aratani Community Advancement Research Endowment.
To register for the event, go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/official-book-launch-celebration-for-a-rebels-outcry-tickets-186426475607
All guests are required to bring proof of vaccination or proof of a negative COVID test taken within the last 72 hours prior to the event. Masks will be required inside, except when eating or drinking. A digital copy of your COVID-19 vaccine record can be obtained here: https://myvaccinerecord.cdph.ca.gov/