Three Unmissable Books That Can Help Us Honor Our Past |
Three Unmissable Books That Can Help Us Honor Our Past
Pacific Citizen: The National Newspaper of the JACL
2015-04-30
Ryan Kenji Kuramitsu, JACL MDC Youth Representative
‘It was books,” wrote social critic James Baldwin, “that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive.”
As Japanese Americans, our history and experiences offer far greater lessons than simple condemnations of the racism, war hysteria and failure of political leadership that led to our mass incarceration. Rather than trapping us in ancient history, our community’s unique moral perspective can advantage us to speak into a number of modern social struggles, connecting us with all people who are alive.
In this vein, here are three unmissable books that can help us honor our past as we continue to draw fresh connections to present challenges…
…3. “Raising Mixed Race: Multiracial Asian Children in a Post-Racial World” — In her debut work, sociologist and critical mixed-race theorist Sharon H. Chang brings years of research and writing experience to the project of aiding multiracial Asian American families navigate critical conversations on multiracial identity. Chang’s holistic and intersectional work delves into intensive interviews with 68 parents of mixed-race children, providing readers with invaluable insight and practical observations on the labor of raising multiracial Asian children in a “post-racial” society forever fixated on a black-white racial binary…
Read the entire retive here.
Tags: Pacific Citizen, Pacific Citizen: The National Newspaper of the JACL, Ryan Kenji Kuramitsu, Sharon Chang, Sharon H. Chang