Q&A BRINGING TSURU FOR SOLIDARITY TO ITHACA by Katelyn Monaco

Katelyn Monaco: What are other actions that students and other members of the Ithaca community can do to be active in these movements?

Wendi Yamashita: The Tsuru stuff is the easiest at the moment because it allows people who are not close to where the actions are taking place to feel involved to feel connected and that’s why I was really drawn to it. It’s hard to get involved when things are so far away from you and one of my problems with Ithaca is that it feels so isolated in many different aspects. In theory, I would love to take students to go to the protest in the Spring, but I don’t know the risk assessment here.

There is a lot of student activism on campus and off-campus like the BLM protest for Rose DeGroat (with IC students there and leading some of the chants and holding it down).
In the JA community, we do a day of remembrance when Executive Order 9066 came out. It’s a huge community event that’s hosted in different areas like LA and NYC, but these are so far away from me. Maybe we could eventually bring one here. But it’s not just about centering the Japanese American experience, but to make larger connections to other communities that are here at IC and in Ithaca and those that are experiencing unjust treatment.

KM: How are you trying to build a diverse array of allies?

WY: Community work, writing statements to show support and solidarity for others’ work, and attending and creating events that allow for solidarity are all really important. Nikkei Progressives just did a concert where they used the money to support immigrants who are being detained. Seeing the kind of relationship building is nice to see and I try to do that in classes as well. What are the possibilities if we all made these connections to one another based on our identities and personal histories?

KM: What does “Stop repeating history” mean to you?

WY: I think it’s important and points to the patterns in history. I like the idea of “stop repeating history” more than “never again” because I feel like “never again” implies that it hasn’t happened again, but it actually happens over and over and over. I think stop repeating history is more attuned to those patterns the connections across history.

KM: What is the importance of community in your work?

WY: I didn’t know how spoiled I was until I came here. I felt like I was taken out of my community and my family and the well-established support systems that I had. For me, it’s about maintaining my community despite distance as well as establishing community here for me and other folks who are feeling similarly. No matter where you are or who you are, finding people to support you and to support as well is really important. When I’m here I also feel supported by students, which has been really nice. One of the things I never thought about before coming here was how important my literal identity was because I had the privilege of growing up on the West coast being around professors who looked like me. Coming here a lot folks don’t have that and even for me, in terms of the faculty, it has been a challenge.

KM: Why did you decide to integrate Tsuru for Solidarity’s work in your classes?

WY: Because there’s so much distance now between my community [back in California], the work feels different than it used to. One of the reasons I was really drawn to Tsuru for Solidarity workshops is because I was really inspired by the tangible ways I could stay involved while I was so far away. I like the group aspect of coming together to make art, that’s also therapy, that’s also space to share stories and make connections with other community members who have like-minded social justice activism. That’s why I wanted to bring it here because I felt like it allows students to learn about this history, do important ally solidarity work, and it’s also a space to think about healing and what that looks like. There’s a lot of accessibility issues in terms of traditional activism and protests. Tsuru allows for accessibility regardless of your immigration status, ability issues, or if you have children, etc. Something that has shifted for me in terms of teaching is doing more creative and non-traditional work. I’m not the most creative person and even my cranes aren’t perfect; they have character. Even if you’re not good at it, even if it’s difficult to learn, I think there’s a way to find joy in the making of the cranes. A lot of [activism] work is really emotionally and intellectually heavy and it feels like we’re only talking to each other in terms of loss. There should be spaces for healing and joy and making funny looking cranes.

KM: What is the common denominator in successful movements? Tsuru’s strengths/ limitations?

WY: In terms of Japanese American activism, some of the things I do like are coming out of multi-generational activism. Before it was like an old guard, where second and third generations [of Japanese Americans were] holding it down. This was based on the activism movements they were taught in the 60s and 70s. Now I’m seeing a lot of younger folks get involved in organizations and having a mix of first through fifth generation Japanese Americans bringing in different viewpoints. Having diverse voices in different communities is always better and more fruitful; it feels like there are more possibilities.

However, there aren’t a lot of multi-racial coalitions. There is a lot of JA support of other organizations which is really great and they provide money, which ties into Japanese American privilege.

KM: What are some misconceptions that you often hear about Japanese American incarceration?

WY: The term is often referred to as “internment,” so my real issue when I teach Introduction to Asian American Studies is reframing that history within a different kind of language. It does matter, especially in the way that euphemisms were used during the time period and long after. Changing the language is significant in the ability to make connections. “Internment” makes it sound like JA incarceration was an apparition or an isolated event, but if you think of it as incarceration or forms of containment/social control, then it allows you to make larger connections with different groups of people who have also experienced something similar. Those connections are really important as well as piecing together what the differences in experiences are.

Interviewer-Katelyn Monaco

Interviewee- Wendi Yamashita