AACP June 2025 Newsletter

Hello AACP Newsletter Readers.

Wow, I’m really late with this newsletter. This was supposed to come out in June and the only ones that may get this in June are living in Hawaii.

Here’s a quick rundown on what you’ll find in this newsletter.

Our first article is what we hope will be a multi-part series on the status of AAPI historical sites. With all the cutbacks and policy changes with our government, we are hoping to shed some light on what these changes may mean for these sites. Part one of this series is an interview with Marlene Shigekawa about the Poston Internment Camp site.

For our second article, we have the 11th installment of our AAPI travel series. All of the places written about for this article were relatively close by (to the Bay Area) and so we got to visit them all. If you’re reading this right after I send out this newsletter, please check the article again for the addition of some photos (I hope to have them added by Tuesday night).

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For our book selection, notable among the children’s books is “Shell Song” by Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson. We are hoping to have Sharon do a signing for us at the San Jose Obon on July 12th. I’ll try to update our blog to let you know more about this in the coming days.

For our non-children’s book selection we have fourteen novels and short stories collection for summer reading. The one that I’d like to point out is a book from Japan called “We’ll Prescribe You a Cat.” This sounds like a must read for all you cat lovers out there :).

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Thank you very much Marlene. We wish you much success in funding your efforts and with your fall pilgrimage. If at all possible, we hope to be there.

Thank you very much Claire for your help with the travel article.

Thank you to our editors, including Philip and Susan.

And thank you Harrison for all your help over the past nearly two years.

Hope to see you all at some upcoming event.

July 12-13, Noon-6pm: San Jose Obon

(note: the time shown is approximately when AACP will be there; the event goes longer)

640 N 5th St, San Jose, CA 95112

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August 2-3: Palo Alto Obon

2751 Louis Rd, Palo Alto, CA 94303

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If you have an event that you would like us to mention and or to participate in, please feel free to let us know.

Interviewed by Leonard Chan

When I started this article, it was meant to be a quick status report on a number of AAPI sites in light of recent government cutbacks and changes in policy. We were only able to get one location’s information done in time for this newsletter article. Please stay tuned for more articles on this subject.

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Marlene Shigekawa is the president of the board of the nonprofit organization “Poston Community Alliance.” Poston Community Alliance work includes preserving the Poston Internment Camp and the stories and memories of those that were there.

Marlene is also a filmmaker and a children’s book author (“Blue Jays in the Desert” and “Welcome Home Swallow”). She was born at Poston and spent the first few months of her life there.

I know your organization has been working hard at trying to restore some of the buildings at the Poston incarceration site. One of your goals is to restore the former library at the Poston Elementary School site and turn it into a visitor’s center.

Part of the funding for your efforts has come from the National Park Service’s Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program in the past. Do you currently have a grant through this program and is there any concern from your organization about cuts to the National Park Service and possibly this program?Has your concerns resulted in any changes to your plans such as the search for alternative funding or timing of your project?

By Leonard Chan and Claire Yi

This is our 11th edition of our AAPI related summer travel series (here are links to our prior articles – 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024; note: some of the links from these articles are broken, but you can still find most of these places by doing an online search).

Here are some places to check out in 2025.

Charles Wong Collection at the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco

San Francisco Comfort Women Memorial

Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History (Chinese Fishing Village Exhibit)

Arboga Assembly Center Memorial Site (location of the Marysville Assembly Center)

View full descriptions of all these featured books at Bookshop.org where you'll also have the opportunity to purchase them.