To the TABLE

"TABLE” (February 4th, 2018) was held in remembrance of the signing of Executive Order 9066 in Oakland, California. We centered the memories of Japanese Americans as it connects to our resistance today. People affected by xenophobic immigration policies were invited to celebrate the continued solidarity between our communities of color—specifically Asian American, AMEMSA, Black, Latinx, and undocumented peoples.

Community Partners

J-sei

J-Sei is a multi-generational and multi-cultural organization with its roots in Nikkei values and culture. "We are proud of our history of providing care and assistance to older adults, senior assisted living, and in conjunction with our new strategic plan and agency rebranding, including our name change, we have expanded our services and programs to include families and younger generations."

nikkei resisters

The Nikkei Resisters are a multi-generation network of Japanese & Asian American activists who are determined to break the chain of America's history of slavery, exclusion, and mass incarceration that imprisoned 120,000 Japanese-Americans. We are opposed to all forms of social injustice and discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation. We will stand together and defend the rights of others and hold those in power accountable.

Visit their Facebook Page and email to join their newsletter.

Arab Resource and organizing center (AROC)

AROC is a grassroots organization working to empower and organize our community towards justice and self-determination for all. AROC members build community power in the Bay Area by participating in leadership development, political education, and campaigns. 

Asian Americans Advancing Justice  - Asian law caucus

Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus is committed to the pursuit of equality and justice for all sectors of our society with a specific focus directed toward addressing the needs of low-income, immigrant, and underserved APIs.  We envision a society where everyone has dignity and access to justice, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, immigration status, and language ability.

Flora ninomiya

Flora Ninomiya is an activist who was born and raised in Richmond, California where her family cultivated roses. She was six years old at the signing of EO9066 when she and her family were interned. Today, Flora speaks passionately about justice at many venues including the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historic Park. People’s Kitchen Collective first met Flora at a holiday bazaar where she was selling the “resist” beanies knitted by her and the women’s group of the Berkeley Methodist United Church.

San quentin origami class

Jun Hamamoto has been teaching at San Quentin Prison for 15 years. She first began teaching origami to inmates in 2012. Read more about the work of the class in the San Quentin News.

misha abbas

Misha Abbas is a Pakistani, Saudi Arabian born community artist, fashion and textiles designer. "The furoshiki I made for this meal are dyed with camellias from Flora Ninomiya’s land where her family once grew roses. The furoshiki is also dyed with turmeric from Pakistan, my home. Materials such as plants for natural dyes are valuable to me because they carry narrative, history that gets embedded into the textiles. Through the use of materials from her land, the furoshiki visually translate and preserve the story of Flora’s family, Flora, and their land."

Hikari Farms

Hikari Farms is an organic greenhouse operation in Watsonville, CA, that specializes in Asian produce. Janet Nagamine, a physician, runs the family farm along with her parents who are now in their 90s. You can read more about their story and order produce on Good Eggs or at Tokyo Fish Market.

Kitazawa seed co.

Since 1917 Kitazawa Seed Company has offered seed varieties that produce dento yasai  or traditional heirloom vegetables of Japan. From 1942 to 1945 they were forced to abandon the business due to WWII. The founder, Gijiu, restarted the business after the war and many of his customers had relocated due to land ownership changes. Today, Kitazawa is America’s oldest Asian vegetable seed company.

CASFS

The mission of the Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS or the Center) is to research, develop, and advance sustainable food and agricultural systems that are environmentally sound, economically viable, socially responsible, nonexploitative, and that serve as a foundation for future generations. 

marvin k. white

Marvin K. White MDiv, is a graduate of the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley CA, and a former Pastor Associate at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco. Marvin is the inaugural "First Church Berkeley 2017-2018 Public Theologian in Residence." He is currently an arts liaison and a co-facilitator of the "Faith Leaders Round Table" at The Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society. He is the author of four collections of poetry published by RedBone Press; Our Name Be Witness, Status and the two Lammy-nominated collections last rights and nothin’ ugly fly. As a public theologian and community-based artist, he is articulating a vision of social, prophetic and creative justice through being a poet, artist, teacher, facilitator, activist, community organizer, preacher, homemaker, cake baker, and Facebook Statustician.

la pelanga

La Pelanga is a DJ collective born out of Cali, Colombia, and based in Oakland, California. Since 2008, we bring together our community around a crazy, positive dance floor with the freshest sounds from Kinshasa and Cartagena, Port au Prince and Nueva York, Oakland and Abidjan. We mix the old and the new, the city and the village, bombardinos and autotune: cumbia, dancehall, afrobeat, salsa dura, soukous, champeta, kompa, hip hop, coupé decalé, currulao, and much more. DJs: China Tu Madre, Franz Tunda, Papicultor, Pozole, and Smokestack.

sana Javeri Kadri

Sana Javeri Kadri is a sometimes salty, permanently hungry, rather creative human. She was raised in post-colonial Bombay, wound up in the produce aisles of California and can be currently found @sanajaverikadri on Instagram or in person wherever there are vegetables. She is also schemer-in-chief for Diaspora Co.

Fox nakai - video

Los Angeles born. Berkeley educated. Oakland living. Documenting the art and activism of counter cultures.

alena museum

Alena Museum is nonprofit 501(c)3 creative space that houses multi-disciplinary arts and work studios to cultivate the cultural richness of the African Diaspora. In the African language of Tigrinya Alena translates to  “we are here!"  Alena Museum declares that "we are here" by providing access for the African Diaspora to create original work and keep dedicated space for creative expression, in the face of the rapid displacement of these communities as a result of gentrification. We are empowering our community to be active players in this new economy in order to directly mitigate displacement and marginalization.