Japanese American Activists Support Black Reparations To Heal Wounds Past And Present

Asian Americans Out Loud is a project highlighting Asian Americans who are leading the way forward in art and activism. That is partly why many of my family members — including Masuo’s last living child, my 96-year-old grandfather — have protested with Tsuru for Solidarity, an activist group led by Japanese Americans. “During the Black Lives Matter actions that were taking place, we definitely realized that Japanese American communities needed to look at their own anti-Blackness,” Ina said. From January through July, participants will read and discuss texts including Isabel Wilkerson’s “Caste” and Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “The Case for Reparations” alongside books and articles about Japanese American redress. “Until we solve long-standing fractures and unaddressed racial animus, we can’t become whole,” he said of the importance of fighting for reparations in solidarity with Black Americans.