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R e mem b ering Him Mar k L aiOn May 17, 2012 the Center, theChinese Historical Society of SouthernCalifornia, and friends of the ChinatownLibrary celebrated the release of HimMark Lai: Autobiography of a ChineseAmerican Historian at the CastelarElementary School in Chinatown. Bookeditor and historian Judy Yung, sharedher experience being mentored by HimMark Lai. Him Mark Lai’s life-longpartner, Laura Lai, was in attendence.Suellen Cheng, Munson Kwok, Michael DucheminJudy Yung presents on Him Mark Lai’s lifePaula Kwok (left) with Laura Lai (right)DIversityEventsEvents organized by two faculty memberswere made possible through the fundingof Vice Provost, Christine Littleton,Office of Diversity and Faculty Development.Professor Lucy Burns hosted “DreamsDeterred: Education Rights and theMovement for Undocumented Migrants,”an event of the California DreamingProject on February 29, 2012. TracyBuenavista, professor of Asian AmericanStudies at Cal State Northridge, and RayHernandez, artist and member of theim.arte collective, shared their research,creative work, and insights on the movement for educational rights of undocumented immigrants.Professor Keith Camacho invitedProfessor Takashi Fujitani to introduceRace for Empire on March 6, 2012. Thislatest book offers a major challenge to ourunderstandings of nationalism, racism,colonialism and wartime mobilizationduring the Second World War.P ro f e s s o r N i n e z P o n c e Ta l k s A b o u t H e a lt h a n d t h ePilipino CommunityOn October 4, 2012 Associate Directorand Professor Ninez Ponce addressedthe Pilipino community about theimportance of the California HealthInterview Survey (CHIS) at Searchto Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA).She stressed the need for the survey tobe conducted in the Pilipino/TagalogCenter staff with members of the Filipino communitylanguage in order to more accuratelyreflect the Pilipino community’s needs.The event was sponsored in partnershipwith the Filipino Health Coalition(SIPA, Pilipino Workers Center, andAsian Pacific Health Care Venture)and the Filipino American ServicesGroup, Inc.Professor Ninez Ponce explaining how CHIS is usedCrossCurrents Fall 20125

R e con n ect ing wit h a l u m n i , s t u d e n t s , fac u lt y,fri e n ds at t h e Annual Awar d R e c e p t i o nAlumni panelists (left to right) Susie Ling, Gisele Fong, Jean-Paul deGuzman and Iosefa AinaAwardee Susan Nakaoka (right) with familyAsian American Studies CenterRemembrances Gordon Hirabyashi, one of the principal defendant in one of the majorU.S. Supreme Court cases Hirabayashi v. United States (1943) passedaway on January 2, 2012 Center founder and Okinawan American Activist, Dick Kobashigawa,passed away on August 29, 2012 Pioneer of Asian/Chinese AmericanLiterary Studies in China, ProfessorWu Bing passes James Akira Hirabayashi, the firstDean of the School of Ethnic Studiesat San Francisco State University,passed away on May 23, 20126CrossCurrents Fall 2012(left to right) Takashi Okazaki, Center founder JamesOkazaki, Kim Yamasaki and Mary KaoandOn a sunny Saturday afternoon inOctober, the Center hosted a festivegathering at the UCLA Faculty Centerto honor students and their familiesand friends as well as take a trip downmemory lane with alumni. The AnnualAwards ceremony for the Center’smany scholarship, fellowship, andacademic prize recipients was expandedthis year to include an alumni panel, adonor spotlight, and the unveiling ofthe Center’s new video trailer. Over120 people enjoyed the reception showcasing the academic accomplishmentsof current students and finding out howthe Center influenced the lives andcareer paths of distinguished alums.The generosity of so many Centersupporters over the years enabled thedistribution of close to 85,000 inawards to undergraduate and graduate students to help them with theireducation during these challengingtimes. In addition, an inaugural awardfor engaged scholarship (by a studentor faculty member) was presented toProfessor Keith Camacho. It was awonderful time to celebrate, to connect/reconnect, and to recognize the stellarpeople and projects associated withthe Center. We hope to see you at nextyear’s gathering. For a listing of all ofthis year’s awardees see Page 14-15.Community, Alumni, and Staff Updates Bruce Iwasaki, co-founder of theCenter, named to L.A. SuperiorCourt Center Student and CommunityProjects Coordinator, Meg Thornton,received the Royal Morales Community Achievement Award from theUCLA Pilipino Alumni Association UCLA aluma and former IAC FellowOiyan Poon hired as an AssistantProfessor in the Higher EducationProgram of the School of Educationat the Loyola University (Chicago) AAS MA alumnus and Centerdonor, Thomas Szymanek, receivedthe Federal Asian Pacific AmericanCouncil’s Outstanding IndividualLeadership Award Dr. Jeannie Shinozuka, MA Alumin Asian American Studies, awardedthe Jack D. Pressman--BurroughsWelcome Fund Career DevelopmentAward by the American Associationfor the History of Medicine

P rofessor Rosh an B astan i R e c e i v e s 2 0 M i l l i o n F e d e r a lG ra n t to St udy ObesityCenter faculty member,Dr. Roshan Bastani,and researcher, Dr.Antronette Yancey, at theUCLA Fielding Schoolof Public Health andUCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Centerhave been awarded a 20 million federalgrant to further their innovative effortsto curb obesity. The five-year grantfrom the Centers for Disease Controland Prevention is intended to addresshealth disparities among racial andethnic groups across the country and ispart of the agency’s Racial and EthnicApproaches to Community Health(REACH) initiative.The new CDC funding enables theresearchers to build on knowledge gainedfrom their prior work and to expand thegeographic scope of their efforts. Theywill concentrate on promoting healthynutrition and physical activity in 30to 40 medium- to large-sized citiesthroughout the U.S. Southeast, Midwestand Southwest, focusing on metropolitan areas where ethnic or racial minorities make up the majority of residents.As part of the project, UCLA willwork collaboratively with national partners to promote and implement sustainable “Instant Recess” initiatives withinschools, youth programs, religious institutions, public health and health careagencies, small businesses, and professional sports teams to support healthylifestyle behaviors in the African Amer-Center receives 100K to study the impactof the foreclosure crisis in Los AngelesThe UCLA Asian American StudiesCenter, under Principal InvestigatorProfessor Paul Ong and ProjectDirector Melany De La Cruz-Viesca,received a 100,000 grant from theFord Foundation to expand an existingstudy on how the foreclosure crisis hasimpacted Asian Americans in East SanGabriel Valley of Los Angeles. Thestudy tests the hypothesis that AsianAmericans are less likely to walk awayfrom their mortgages despite beingupside down and having a heavy financial burden. The new study will examinethe same processes in three additionalneighborhoods: one with a predominately African American population,another with a predominantly Latinopopulation, and for comparison aworking-class non-Hispanic Whiteneighborhood. The research projectalso includes a qualitative componentby interviewing those who defaultedon their mortgage and those who wentinto foreclosure. The last componentlooks at how community-based organizations have responded to the foreclosure crisis and assisted communitiesof color in dealing with the foreclosurecrisis.The Herzig Papers, An Archival ProjectThe Center has begun the archivalprocessing of papers and documentsdonated by Jack Herzig and AikoHerzig-Yoshinaga. The Herzig Papersis a vast and valuable research collection of primary documents that exposesthe governmental decision-making andadministration that led to the incarceration of Japanese Americans duringWWII. This initial phase will processrecords of the Commission on WartimeRelocation & Internment of Civilians(CWRIC) and the evidentiary documents discovered during its investigation. Archival processing of CWRICrecords and the remaining HerzigPapers will facilitate crucial access forresearchers, students, and communitymembers seeking greater knowledge onthe consequences of this tragic period,not only to Japanese Americans but toall Americans. Contact the center forinformation on how to support theHerzig Archival Collection Project.ican, Asian American/Pacific Islander,Hispanic/Latino and American Indiancommunities.“This project represents a true publichealth approach,” Bastani said. “Wewill continue to partner with a widerange of community organizations thathave national reach and assist them inadapting our program for the specificpopulations they serve.”Dr. Antronette Yancey and Dr.Roshan Bastani are professors of healthpolicy and management at the FieldingSchool and co-directors of the school’sUCLA Kaiser Permanente Center forHealth Equity.(This story was adapted from SarahAnderson’s article in UCLA Newsroomon October 3, 2012)K. Patrick and LilyOkura PapersThe Center is fortunate to havereceived on-going support fromthe Okura Mental Health Leadership Foundation to continue theprocessing of the K. Patrick and LilyOkura Papers. The Okura Papersinclude important materials relatedto the field of Asian American andPacific Islander mental health thatwill be of great value to researchers.The Okuras were longtimesupporters of the Center, and Patrickreceived his B.A. (1933) and M.A.(1935) from UCLA in psychology.Patrick Okura’s distinguishedcareer at the National Institute ofMental Health included advocacyfor research and training on AsianAmerican and Pacific Islander mentalhealth issues and helping to foundthe Asian American PsychologistsAssociation. The Center also housesthe Patrick and Lily Okura Endowment for Asian American MentalHealth Research that providesresearch support for UCLA facultyand students.CrossCurrents Fall 20117

Faculty P romot ionsCongratulations to Professor JinqiLing who was recently promoted tothe rank of Full Professor of AsianAmerican Studies and English.Professor Ling joined the UCLAfaculty in 1992. He has been theChair of the Asian American StudiesDepartment since 2011 and a longtime member of the Center’s FacultyAdvisory Committee.Professor Ling is the author ofAcross Meridians: History and Figuration in Karen Tei Yamashita’s Transnational Novels, published earlier thisyear by Stanford University Press, andthe critically acclaimed, NarratingNationalisms: Ideology and Form inAsian American Literature.Professor Ling received hisdoctorate in American Studies atWashington State University andearned his M.A. in ComparativeLiterature from Tianjin NormalUniversity in China.Lucy Burns, Department of AsianAmerican Studies, has been promotedto Associate Professor with tenure.Lucy Mae San Burns began herfaculty position at UCLA with a jointappointment in the Departments ofAsian American Studies and WorldArts and Cultures in 2005. In 2007, sheassumed a full appointment in the AsianAmerican Studies Department.Professor Burns’s research andteaching interests include Asian American Theater, the racialized performingbody, feminist performance theory,critical empire studies, and PilipinoStudies. She is the author of Puro Arte:Filipinos on the Stages of Empire (NewYork University Press, 2012).She received her A.A. from Porterville Community College, her B.A. inEnglish from Sonoma State College,and her doctoral degree in English, withan American Studies concentration,from the University of Massachusetts,Amherst.Professor Robert Chao Romero ofthe Chavez Department of Chicana/oStudies and Asian American StudiesDepartment has been promoted toAssociate Professor with tenure.With a Mexican father fromChihuahua, Mexico and a Chineseimmigrant mother from Hubei, China,Romero’s dual cultural heritage servesas the basis for his academic studies.His research examines Asian immigration to Latin America, as well as thelarge population of “Asian-Latinos” inthe United States.Romero received his Ph.D. in LatinAmerican history from UCLA and hisJuris Doctor from U.C. Berkeley, andis a former Ford Foundation and U.C.President’s Postdoctoral Fellow. Hiscurrent projects include an examination of the burgeoning “Asian-Latino”community of the United States, aswell as a history of Mexican Americansegregation.Passin g of UCLA Prof es s or E m e r i t u s an d fo r m e r C e n t e rD i rector, Alexander Sa x to nUCLAHistoryProfessor Emeritus,and former ActingDirector and longtime Faculty AdvisoryCommittee Chair ofthe Asian AmericanStudies Center, Alexander Saxton, passed away on August20, 2012 in Lone Pine, California.Professor Saxton, throughout histime at UCLA was a staunch supporterand actively involved in the AsianAmerican Studies Center, providingkey leadership and mentoring manystudents over the years. ProfessorValerie Matsumoto commented: “Alex’spath-breaking book, The Indispensable Enemy, changed how historiansthought about early Asian immigration and labor organizing. He was abrilliant, rigorous scholar, a generouscolleague, and an inspiring teacherwho mentored an enormous numberof graduate students. When I arrived atUCLA, it was not always a hospitableplace for ethnic studies faculty, and Iwill always be grateful for his friendshipand support.”In a special issue of Amerasia Journal(2000), Professor Saxton reflected uponhis life and career in an essay entitled:“The Indispensable Enemy and Ideological Construction: Reminiscences ofan Octogenarian Radical.”The UCLA Asian American StudiesCenter is invariably richer for havingknown and worked with ProfessorAlexander Saxton whose intelligenceand generous spirit brought so much toso many. He will certainly be missed,but not forgotten. Pro f e s s o r M i n Z h o u e l e c t e dChair-Elect of the InternationalMigration Section of the American Sociological Association Professor Keith Camacho’s book,Cultures of Commemoration: ThePolitics of War, Memory, and Historyin the Mariana Islands, awardedthe Masayoshi Ohira MemorialPrizeAsian American Studies CenterFaculty Up dat es Professor C. Cindy Fan namedinterim Vice Provost for InternationalStudies Professor Robert Chao Romero hasreceived the 2012 Latina/o StudiesSection Book Award from the LatinAmerican Studies Association for TheChinese in Mexico, 1882–19408CrossCurrents Fall 2012

Dr. Akemi Kikumura Yano and Dr. Satoshi Ikeno: 2012-2013V i s itin g Sch olar sThe UCLA Asian American StudiesCenter is pleased to announce thatDr. Akemi Kikumura Yano and Dr.Satoshi Ikeno have been appointedVisiting Scholars.Dr. KikumuraYano is an anthropologist, writer,a n d e d u c a t o r.Hercurrentresearch focuseson second- andthird-generation Japanese Americansin the post-World War II era. Sheholds a Ph.D. in anthropology fromthe UCLA, and is an award-winningauthor, curator, museum specialistand playwright. Dr. Kikumura Yanohas taught anthropology and ethnicstudies at the University of SouthernCalifornia and UCLA. Most recentlyshe was the President and ChiefExecutive Officer at the JapaneseAmerican National Museum whereshe held various positions starting in1987.D r. S a t o s h iIkeno is an alumnusof UCLA (Ph.D. inSocial Welfare) andcurrently workingas a professorat the School ofHuman Welfare Studies, KwanseiGakuin University, Kobe, Japan. Hehad four years clinical experienceas a family therapist at a psychiatric clinic in Osaka and two yearsas a clinical social worker at theAsian Pacific Development Centerin Denver, Colorado. He is teachingseveral courses of clinical social workand personality development in bothgraduate and undergraduate levels.Dr. Ikeno’s current research focuseson the long-term psychosocial effectsof traumatic events on the peopleincluding Japanese American AtomicBomb (Hiroshima/Nagasaki) survivors, crime victims, and the survivorsof natural disasters. His researchmethodology mainly employs the “mixmethod” integrating both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Heis also continuously receiving clinicaltrainings for the psycho-physiological(integral) trauma therapy methodsto enhance “trauma-informed socialwork settings” in Japan.The Chancellor’s Service Award is aselective award honoring graduatingundergraduate students who have madesignificant contributions to UCLA and/or the surrounding Los Angeles community through a sustained record ofoutstanding leadership and service. Therecipients of this award are selected bya panel of service-minded UCLA staffmembers and are distinguished by theblue and gold fourragère, which is wornduring the Commencement ceremony.Randy Mai, UCLA Classof 2012, majored in AsianAmerican Studies andminored in Urban andRegional Studies and AsianLanguages (Concentrationin Southeast Asian). He has served as anadministrative assistant with Student andCommunity Projects unit of the UCLAAsian American Studies Center andinterned with the City of Los AngelesHuman Relations Commission.Trung Nguyen, UCLAClass of 2012, majoredin Asian Amer ic anStudies. He directedt h e A s i a n Pa c i f i cCoalition and ser vedas Outreach Projects Assistant forthe Asian American Studies Department. He is currently pursuing hisM.A. in Asian American Studies atUCLA.Students making a difference- Randy Mai and Trung Nguyenreceive Chancellor Service AwardE t hn oCommunic at ion S t u d e n t F i l m sAfter a rigorous academic year, thestudents in the Asian Am 142C: EthnoCommunications Creating CommunityMedia course premiered their shortdocumentary films to an audience offriends, family, community membersstudents, and faculty on June 14, 2012.The films and their synopses are asfollows:500 Miles, Directors: Chris Nguyenand Trung Nguyen— A filmmakerre-examines his relationship with hisschizophrenic older sister across timeand distance.Basketball, Meri Jaan (Basketball, MyLove),Director:Veena Hampapur (alumni)—An immigrant woman finds happinessand community through her passion forprofessional sports.Endless, Director: Judy Lu— PhatTran, a loving great-grandfather, copeswith the passing of his wife and learnsto live life to its fullest.Made in Vietnam, Director: Viet NamNguyen (alumni)— Lien MacDonaldand her mother deal with mysterysurrounding Lien’s biological father.EthnoCommunications student filmsare available for educational use. Pleasecontact Gena at ghamamoto@ucla.edufor more information.Student filmmakers with Professor Nakamura andGena Hamamoto (bottom left)CrossCurrents Fall 20129

Amerasia Journ al: “Los Angeles Since 1992: Commemoratingthe 20th Anniv er sary o f t h e Up r i s i n g s ”The year 2012 markedthe twentieth anniversary of the uprisingthat took place on thestreets of Los Angeleson April 29, 1992. Tothis day, academics,journalists, communitymembers, and artistscontinue to grapple withwhat happened and itsimpact on the presentand future of LA andits diverse communities.This issue of AmerasiaJournal explores many of these issuesand questions that have emerged in thepast two decades since Sa-I-Gu (4-2-9in Korean). Edited by Center DirectorDavid K. Yoo andDarnell Hunt, Directorof the Ralph J. BuncheCenter for AfricanAmerican Studies, “LosAngeles Since 1992”pays particular attentionto the Asian American,African American andLatino communitiesthat inhabit the citytogether.Publication of thisissue allowed the Centerto participate in valuableevents and discussions focused on theLA Uprisings. The Association for AsianAmerican Studies Annual Conferenceprovided an opportunity to present apanel centered around the issue, bringingtogether contributors Edward TaehanChang, Mary Yu Danico, Edward J.W.Park, Kyeyoung Park, and Victor HugoViesca. In April, the Center took partin the conference entitled “Hope Outof Crisis,” which was sponsored by theKorea Foundation and various

UCLA and his legacy as the “Godfa-ther of Asian American media.” Hosted by the UCLA Asian American . Press’s new Marketing Manager. Barbra is a native Californian and a graduate of UC Berkeley, . Masters degree i