Vince Schleitwiler
Vince Schleitwiler, a fourth-generation Japanese American from Chicago, currently teaches ethnic studies at the University of Washington, and lives in Beacon Hill with his family. His book, Strange Fruit of the Black Pacific, was published in 2017 by NYU Press.
Before ‘Crazy Rich Asians,’ Asian Americans were already making film history
It’s not often that a movie gets hailed as a Hollywood landmark long before its release—especially if it’s a simple romantic comedy, without a blockbuster budget or Oscar-baiting artistic ambition. But if you haven’t been abstaining from pop culture and social media this summer, you already know about Crazy Rich Asians.
Local artists design sculpture honoring Chinese American civil rights struggles in the West
He was an immigrant from a reviled race, denied citizenship and the rights it entailed, and from his perspective, American justice must have looked more than a little off-kilter.
Yee Shun was his name, we’re...
The Sympathizer author Viet Thanh Nguyen speaks at Benaroya Hall on May 7
You can see why people might celebrate Viet Thanh Nguyen as a model refugee.
For these inhospitable times, he seems ideally cast. Brought over as a child in 1975, he grew up to be a...
Video links Muslim and Japanese American histories at Manzanar
Perhaps a wet Seattle street in winter is not the ideal place to watch a video of a trip to the desert. But here you are, staring at an impossibly bright landscape, spread across...
Khizr Khan, Kishi Bashi, and others show solidarity at Densho’s Day of Remembrance event
He is a reluctant celebrity, subjected beyond any rational expectation to the most outrageous assaults on his character. His activism is, in essence, merely the act of mourning in public. A grieving father has little concern for people who can’t square his sacrifice and his patriotism with his religion, race, and accent. The tangible aura of humility and dignity surrounding Khizr Khan derives from an awareness that the price he’s already paid far outweighs anything the troller-in-chief can send his way
Wing Luke beverages exhibit is a pleasure to be sipped slowly
A museum exhibit about beverages? Admit it: the topic sounds a bit, well, dry. A story you might be tempted to flip past, in line at the coffee shop, or scroll by, waiting for your drink at the bar. But slow down, have a seat, and take a sip: The folks at the Wing Luke Museum want to help you understand how place and community are shaped by the sharing of drinks
What kids can learn from Fred Korematsu, who resisted Japanese American incarceration
Stan Yogi was ten years old when he learned about what happened to his family during World War II. At the time, roller-skating, basketball, and piano lessons were his major concerns. Then he found out that his mother graduated from high school in Manzanar, a concentration camp in California. Decades later, it’s Yogi’s turn to introduce a new generation to this history. Fred Korematsu Speaks Up, written with Laura Atkins and illustrated by Yutaka Houlette, tells the story of a soft-spoken young man who found the courage to challenge Japanese American incarceration all the way to the Supreme Court