“A Rebel’s Outcry” Author Event at JANM
Celebrate the release of “A Rebel’s Outcry,” the award-winning biography of civil rights leader Sei Fujii, with a special 10th anniversary screening of the short film “Lil Tokyo Reporter” and biography discussion on Saturday, September 3, from 2 p.m. at 3:30 p.m. at the Japanese American National Museum, First Street and Central Avenue in Little Tokyo.
The conversation will include filmmaker and editor Jeffrey Gee Chin, Oscar winner Chris Tashima, and actress Keiko Agena.
This program is presented in partnership with the Little Tokyo Historical Society (LTHS).
“A Rebel’s Outcry” is available in the JANM store.
Free; the suggested donation is $10. To confirm your presence at the event (in person or virtual), go to: https://www.janm.org/events/2022-09-03/author-conversation-rebels-outcry-biography-issei-civil-rights-leader-sei-fujii
About the book: “A Rebel’s Outcry: Biography of Issei Civil Rights Leader Sei Fujii (1882-1954)” is an illustrated biography and detailed insight into the life of Japanese-born American civil rights leader Sei Fujii, known for overturning the California law on foreign lands in 1952 and founded the Japanese American Journal Kashu Mainichi (California Daily News). Her complex story reveals her intriguing journey as an immigrant, social justice activist, trade unionist and community leader. Fujii’s story illustrates the multitude of ways Americans have and can continue to fight for our civil rights.
The official biography is the source written by author Kenichi Sato and was commissioned by manager Junko Maruya of Kashu Mainichi. As a result of Sato’s work, LTHS conducted more than ten years of extensive research, including interviews with countless community members and Fujii’s family, and visited his ancestral samurai home in Takamori Village in Iwakuni. . Publication of this book is sponsored by MUFG Union Bank, the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, and the George and Sakaye Aratani Community Advancement Research Endowment.
Jeffrey Gee Chin directs narratives about early immigrant communities in the United States. He is best known for his award-winning short drama “Lil Tokyo Reporter,” which received over 21 film awards and screened internationally at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Beijing, and Tokyo. It was mentored by the late director John Singleton. He’s also been featured on “Good Morning America” and the Walt Disney Family Museum, edited an Emmy-nominated SFGovTV program, and oversaw visual effects for Student Academy Award-nominated “Drone.” He made a heist film in India, “Mosagallu”, with Suniel Shetty and Kajal Aggarawal, and also published his first book, “A Rebel’s Outcry”, which has already won two gold medals.
Chris Tashima is a veteran actor who has played Japanese American roles in award-winning independent films such as “Model Minority”, “Under the Blood Red Sun”, and “Go For Broke”. You can see him next in Yonsei writer/director Paul Goodman’s “No No Girl” (out in theaters September). Tashima is best known as the Oscar-winning director of “Visas and Virtue,” a short film in which he also stars as Holocaust rescuer Chiune Sugihara.
Keiko Agena is best known for her regular roles on the shows “Prodigal Son,” where she played Dr. Edrisa Tanaka, and “Gilmore Girls,” where she played Lane Kim for seven years. She also reprized the role in Netflix’s “Gilmore Girls: Seasons.” As an improv, she has performed at UCB Sunset/NY and IO West and is a recent addition to the main company at Impro Theatre. In between, Agena has been a series regular on Hulu’s “The First” and recurring on “Better Call Saul,” “Dirty John” and “13 Reasons Why.” As a guest star, she has appeared on shows such as ‘Shameless’, ‘Scandal’ and ‘NCIS: Los Angeles’, to name a few. She recently published an artist’s manual titled “No Mistakes” via Penguin/Random House, which is available wherever books are sold.
