Alexander Saxton’s Review of Gwendolyn Mink’s Old Labor and New Immmigrants in American Political Development

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Amerasia Journal blog

Amerasia Journal 14:1 “New Ethnicity” (1988) contains a book review by Professor Saxton. It serves as a brief but excellent example of his intellectual contributions to the interdisciplinary field of Asian American Studies.  He makes insightful distinctions between racism and nativism, while giving encouraging appraisal of Gwendolyn Mink’s contributions to the study of American political/labor history.

We would like to share Alexander Saxton’s Book Review with you. Please click on the link for the pdf.

All back issues of Amerasia Journal can be found online at Metapress:  you will receive three issues and online access to all past issues with an annual subscriptions for individuals of $99.99.  Check to see if your library subscribes to Amerasia Journal.

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Continuation: Aoki—Informant or Snitch-Jacketed?

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Amerasia Journal blog

(This is a continuation of our previous post on this ongoing topic that can be found here.)

The internet waves are still abuzz with questions surrounding Richard Aoki and information is not just coming from the original journalists and blog posters – commenters are also providing some interesting and much needed thoughts.

We have decided to reprint the full text of a comment to a recent Rafu Shimpo article (“ ‘Aoki’ Filmmakers’ Rebuttal To Cir Report”) because it provides some insight into FBI protocol, which no one else has been able to address.  This comment supports the need for verification of the FBI information that has been used to cast doubt on Aoki.

ernie  August 25, 2012

There are many different ways to establish, conclusively, whether or not Richard Aoki was, indeed, an FBI informant — especially if he was a “paid” informant.

First, a comment about T-symbols used by the FBI. A T-symbol assigned to a source of information would not necessarily mean he/she was an actual informant. T-symbols were used to designate raw information obtained from employers, postal service employees, mail covers, electronic surveillance, financial institutions, military service records from the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, as well as persons interviewed by the FBI who may or may not have had reliable information.

However, if Aoki truly was a paid informant of the FBI, he would have been assigned a code name and a symbol number.

For example, one famous FBI informant (Matt Cvetic) was assigned a code name of Bob Lee and his symbol was CNDI C-113 (Confidential National Defense Informant C-113).

Perhaps the most famous (and most productive) FBI informant of all times was Morris Childs who was a highly placed mole inside the Communist Party. His code name was Harold Lasky and his symbol was CG-5824-S*. His brother, Jack Childs, was also a major FBI informant inside the CPUSA. His code name Marat and his symbol number NY-694-S*.

All FBI field offices kept an index of their active and inactive informants — so it should be possible to determine if Richard Aoki was listed by the FBI’s San Francisco field office and/or if his name appeared on the HQ Informant Index.

In addition, if Richard Aoki was a “paid” informant, his FBI field office case agent (and Special Agent in Charge of San Francisco) would have prepared a request sent to FBI HQ to (1) request authorization to use Aoki as an informant and (2) request permission to pay him whatever amount was deemed necessary for expenses and services.

As I told Seth Rosenfeld, there MUST BE a “main file” on Aoki (both HQ and San Francisco) to archive all these documents plus copies of his reports and FBI employee evaluations of his information plus details regarding how that information was used.

HOWEVER, it is possible that Aoki was only an information source — not a paid informant. Space limitations here prevent me from going into details but new FOIA requests would seem to be in order to ascertain if he was actually a paid informant.

To help supplement this continuing dialogue, we are making available two Amerasia pieces that were written In Memoriam to Richard Aoki when he passed in 2008.  One essay is by Harvey Dong entitled “Richard Aoki (1938-2008):  Toughest Oriental to Come Out of West Oakland” and the other is “Komrad Richard” by Mo Nishida.  They are from the Amerasia issue “Subjugated to Subject:  Through Class, Race, and Sex” (2009, see: 35.2 table of contents). Articles from the issue, as well as other issues of Amerasia, can be found on our Metapress site.

Here are more links to other articles that are currently furthering the discussion:

Scott Kurashige: “Each Generation Must Discovery It’s Own History: Some Thoughts on the Richard Aoki Debate” Part 1; Part 2 & Part 3 (coming soon). (via 8asians.com)

Louis Proyect: “The Richard Aoki Imbroglio”

Yvette (@canelanyc): “On Lessons and Legacies” (via Arithmachic.com)

Elbert “Big Man” Howard & Raul (Curly) Estremera: “Two Tributes to Black Panther Field Marshal Richard Aoki” (via SFBayView)

Peter Monaghan:  “Scholars Challenge Author’s Assertion That 1960s Activist Worked for FBI” (The Chronicle of Higher Education)

 

 

 

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Russell C. Leong: On the passing of Alexander Saxton

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Center Press

Friend and colleague, Alex will be sorely missed. Alexander Saxton embodied the qualities of both scholar and activist: courageous, a stickler for seeing social truths and social justice as intertwined, and perhaps foremost, possessing a keen and radical understanding of human nature not as something “that had always been”, but rather, as something that could be transformed, day by day, decade by decade into its fuller potential. This faith, as Alex demonstrated in his writings and work, was aptly applied to his support of and development of Asian American Studies at UCLA. The subsequent flourishing of the field is in no small way due to the efforts of individuals such as Alexander Saxton, who stood up for the mission of Asian American Studies when it was not easy to do so. Alexander Saxton participated and supported the work of the Center’s Amerasia Journal from 1977 to the present.

-Russell C. Leong

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In Memory of Alexander Saxton

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Center Press

The UCLA Asian American Studies Center is sad to note the passing of long-time supporter Professor Alexander Saxton. In honor of his life and legacy, the Center Press presents to the public a complimentary copy of Saxton’s “The Indispensible Enemy and Ideological Construction: Reminiscences of an Octogenarian Radical“ from Amerasia Journal 26:1 “Histories and Historians in the Making” (2000).

The piece chronicles some of Saxton’s personal life and experiences as they influenced his path towards studying and presenting history with a strong sense of social consciousness.

He had served as chair on the Center’s Faculty Advisory Committee for 20 years and also was a member of Amerasia Journal‘s editorial board. His contributions to the Center and to Amerasia Journal, along with his tremendous impact on the fields of history and ethnic studies, are numerous and he will be definitely missed.

Please read the note below released by Center Director Professor David K. Yoo on Saxton’s passing which mentions many of the ways in which Saxton has left an indelible mark on the UCLA Asian American Studies Center.

UCLA History Professor Emeritus, and former Acting Director and longtime Faculty Advisory Committee Chair of the Asian American Studies Center, Alexander Saxton, passed away on August 20, 2012 in Lone Pine, California at the age of 94.

Professor Saxton throughout his time at UCLA was a staunch supporter and actively involved in the Asian American Studies Center, providing key leadership and mentoring many students over the years.  Of his time at the Center, Professor Saxton said, “It turned out to be one of the most demanding (and rewarding) experiences of my life…. Being a proponent of Ethnic Studies at UCLA in the 1970s and ‘80s was good combat training. There still was big opposition to Ethnic Studies on grounds that ranged from blatant racism to lack of high academic principle. We constantly had to fight for approval for research funding and core courses, and we remained endlessly involved in struggles over initial appointments and tenure promotion for scholars committed to Ethnic Studies.”

A labor organizer and novelist, Saxton brought a depth of humanity and passion for social justice to his distinguished career as a historian.  Among his many publications, Professor Saxton authored the pioneering, Indispensible Enemy: Labor and the Anti-Chinese Movement in California (1975), one of the founding texts in Asian American history/studies.  Professor Valerie Matsumoto commented: “Alex’s path-breaking book The Indispensable Enemy changed how historians thought about early Asian immigration and labor organizing.  He was a brilliant, rigorous scholar, a generous colleague, and an inspiring teacher who mentored an enormous number of graduate students.  When I arrived at UCLA, it was not always a hospitable place for ethnic studies faculty, and I will always be grateful for his friendship and support.”

In a special issue of Amerasia Journal (2000), Professor Saxton reflected upon his life and career in an essay entitled: “The Indispensable Enemy and Ideological Construction: Reminiscences of an Octogenarian Radical.” To read this article, please go the Amerasia Journal blog.

For additional information, see the History Department announcement.

The UCLA Asian American Studies Center is invariably richer for having known and worked with Professor Alexander Saxton whose intelligence and generous spirit brought so much to so many.  He will certainly be missed, but not forgotten.

***

Edit (09/10/12): We are compiling some of Alexander Saxton’s obituaries and articles written on his life after his passing. Please see the below links for more insight into Professor Saxton.

New York Times: Alexander Saxton, Historian and Novelist, Dies at 93

Manzanar Committee: Manzanar Committee Statement on the Passing of UCLA Professor Emeritus Alexander Saxton

The Daily Bruin: UCLA Historian, Novelist Alexander Saxton dies at 93

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Richard Aoki: Informant or Snitch-Jacketed?

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Amerasia Journal blog

One of the stories raging across the internet since Monday, August 20, has been the accusation made by journalist Seth Rosenfeld that Richard Aoki, reknown Asian American radical, was an FBI informant. The articles can be read here (SFGate) and here (CIR)  As shock waves initially rippled through the internet, more astute social movement activists stepped up to question the evidence, which consists of a single page FBI document dated 1967, which has “Richard Matsui Aoki” (his middle name is Masato) on it, and some taped interviews.  Aoki’s biographer Diane C. Fujino, author of Samurai Among Panthers:  Richard Aoki on Race, Resistance, and a Paradoxical Life, faced off with Seth Rosenfeld on “Democracy Now” this morning, to discuss the basis for Rosenfeld’s accusations.  “Democracy Now’s” Amy Goodman raised the question that Fujino had about whether this could be a case of  “snitch jacketing”  by the FBI, whereby unsubstantiated rumors are floated out about a particular person being an FBI informant so that this person can no longer function with any credibility.

It is interesting to note the timing of these allegations against Aoki. Fujino’s book, which showcases Aoki’s own words through oral history transcription, was only just recently released a few months ago (University of Minnesota Press—May 2, 2012 ).  And now, on the heels of her book comes Seth Rosenfeld’s Subversives:  The FBI’s War on Student Radicals, and Reagan’s Rise to Power (Farrar, Straus and Giroux—August 21, 2012).  Aoki’s role is of minor mention in Subversives, which makes the news of Aoki being an FBI informant suspiciously targeted at:  1) hyping up the release of Rosenfeld’s book the day after this story hit the wires, and 2) discredit Aoki’s voice, which was carefully left unadulterated by biographer Fujino.

The Center for Investigative Reporting and San Francisco Chronicle‘s SFGate website broke the story.  Much of Rosenfeld’s and CIR’s “evidence” is based on a video interview with retired FBI agent M. Wesley Swearingen, who never knew Aoki personally, and yet  he worked on a squad that investigated the Black Panther Party.  That in itself seems strange.  The other “hard evidence” comes from FBI agent Burney Threadgill, who is now deceased.

With no conclusive evidence either way, this story continues to unfold. It is possible that there won’t be conclusive evidence on this in the immediate future, or possibly ever.  We do, however, recognize Richard Aoki’s influence and contribution to the important social justice movements within our collective histories, as well as to the Asian American community as a whole, and we hope that his legacy will not be so quickly dismissed.

We would appreciate any of your comments or concerns to be posted on the Center’s Facebook page.

 

Below are links to some of the current commentary already presented on Richard Aoki and these accusations. If you have any other informative links you would like to share, please let us know.

Diane Fujino: “Where’s the evidence Aoki was an FBI informant?” (via SFGate.com)

Fred Ho: “Fred Ho refutes the claim that Aoki was an FBI informant” (via SF BayView)

Ben Wang & Mike Cheng: “Statement Regarding Allegations That Richard Aoki Was an FBI Informant by Ben Wang & Mike Cheng” (via AokiFilm.com)

Lee Lew Lee: “Lee Lew Lee on Richard Aoki“(via Moorbey’s Blog)

Harvey Dong: On Apex Express discussing Richard Aoki (via KPFA. Live-stream starting @ 7pm Pacific on August 23rd. Edit: Episode available for download on Apex site.)

Scott Kurashige: “Each Generation Must Discover Its Own History: Some Thoughts on the Richard Aoki Debate” (Part 1) (via 8asians.com)

 

Amerasia Journal has a forthcoming review section (summer 2013) on Samurai Among Panthers by people who knew Richard Aoki from UC Berkeley’s Third World Strike in 1969 to the last years of his life.

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Towards a Third Literature: Chinese Writing in the Americas (Amerasia Journal 38:2)

Posted on August 9, 2012 by Amerasia Journal blog

The UCLA Asian American Studies Center Press is proud to announce the release of Amerasia Journal Issue 38:2…

“Towards a Third Literature:  Chinese Writing in the Americas”

The latest issue of Amerasia Journal is an unprecedented international collaboration for Amerasia Journal, bringing together authors and intellectuals from China, Taiwan, Latin America, and the United States to consider the impact of national and cultural identities on literary practice.  Examining a diverse range of works written in Chinese, English, and Spanish from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present, the essays collected in this volume document the independent intellectual and political positions the Chinese outside of China have taken in the global arena.  Spearheaded by guest editors Evelyn Hu-DeHart (Brown University), Russell C. Leong (UCLA and Hunter College), and Wang Ning (Tsinghua University), the volume is a truly transnational endeavor that crosses geographical, linguistic, and disciplinary borders, offering insight into how Chinese and Asian American literature is received at many sites throughout the Pacific.

“Towards a Third Literature” features selections by internationally known writers of Chinese descent, as well as current research being undertaken by prominent critics as well as emerging scholars in Chinese and Asian American literature.

* A forum on award-winning author Ha Jin, who himself contributes an original piece to the issue.  Participants in the forum include leading scholars in Asian American literature from the U.S., China, and Taiwan:  King-Kok Cheung (UCLA), Yingjian Guo (Minzu University, Beijing), and Te-hsing Shan (Academia Sinica, Taipei).

* Original English and Chinese translations of renowned Chinese Peruvian author Kam Wen Siu by Maan Lin (CUNY Queensboro Community College).

* Comparative approaches to Chinese diasporic literature from multiethnic, transnational, and historical perspectives.

* Detailed studies of how migration to the United States influenced the work of Chinese authors, from Eileen Chang to members of the Baodiao movement of the 1970s.

Copies of the issue can be obtained by ordering via phone, email or mail.  This issue of Amerasia Journal costs $15.00 plus shipping and handling and applicable sales tax.  Please contact the UCLA AASC Press for more detailed ordering information.

UCLA Asian American Studies Center Press
3230 Campbell Hall
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1546

Phone: 310-825-2968
Email: aascpress@aasc.ucla.edu
Blog: http://www.amerasiajournal.org/blog/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AmerasiaJournal

Amerasia Journal is published three times a year:  Winter, Spring, and Fall.  Annual subscriptions for Amerasia Journal are $99.99 for individuals and $445.00 for libraries and other institutions.  The annual subscription price includes access to the Amerasia Journal online database, with full-text versions of published issues dating back to 1971.

Instructors interested in using “Towards a Third Literature” or other issues of Amerasia Journal in the classroom should contact the above email address to request a review copy

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Amerasia Journal on Marriage Equality and Asian America

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Amerasia Journal blog

A note on President Barack Obama’s historic statement this week affirming his support of marriage equality from long-time Amerasia Journal editor Russell C. Leong:

When President Obama told ABC’s Robin Roberts, “I’ve just concluded that, for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married,” my mind flashed back to the 2006 special issue Amerasia Journal did on the marriage equality debate.

In this issue, edited by Amy Sueyoshi and myself, we published an article by famed editor and writer Helen Zia.  In the 1990s, she found herself in Missoula, Montana, working on a story about white supremacists. She arrived in time for the Montana’s first gay pride parade.

“I expected the event to be the high point in an otherwise somber trip,” said Zia. “I wanted to go, to be part of it and show my
support.” Instead, she found herself to be the only person of color as far as she could tell. The crowd gave her wide berth, and Zia walked the whole march as if enclosed in a bubble. She considered raising a banner proclaiming, “I may be Asian but I’m a lesbian, too!”

Zia’s account of her experience in “Where the Queer Zone Meets the Asian Zone: Marriage Equality and Other Intersections” is part of a special issue which brings together for the first time the views of Asian Americans on the same-sex marriage debate, six years before President Obama voiced his support of it.

Today, Zia acknowledges that people have become more accepting, thanks to the work of generations of gay and lesbian and Asian activists.  Part of it may be due to people like Zia, who have been willing to push through the barriers and speak on these issues.  For that change in attitude, Zia credits the likes of Kevin Chang in Hawaii and Doris Ling Cohan in California, judges who ruled that banning same-sex marriage was unconstitutional and discriminatory.  Asian Americans like Stuart Gaffney with his partner John Lewis, and spouses Jennifer Lin and Jeannie Fong were part of the Marriage Equality Bus that brought the issue of same-sex marriage to Wal-Mart parking lots across the country. Asian Americans were the chief plaintiffs in the first lawsuits filed challenging state bans on same-sex marriage.

According to statistics from the UCLA Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation, Law and Public Policy, almost 40,000 Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders identify themselves as living with a same-sex partner. Furthermore, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders comprise 3 percent of individuals in same sex couples in the United States, with California, Hawaii and New York hosting the greatest populations.

We support President Obama for speaking out.

Russell C. Leong
Senior International Editor

Ordering information for “Asian Americans in the Marriage and Equality Debate” below the fold…

Continue reading →

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Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Center Press

Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month!

This month commemorates the challenges faced by and the contributions of Asian American and Pacific Islanders. It first started in the form of Asian Pacific Heritage Week, which was designated as the first ten days of May. This “week” was chosen specifically because, as cited by The Law Library of Congress,

May 7, 1843 is the date on which the first Japanese immigrants arrived in the United States while on May 10, 1869 the first transcontinental railroad in the United States was completed with significant contributions from Chinese pioneers.

It was later changed to become the month it is today, starting in 1992. For more info, you can check out President Barack Obama’s 2012 proclamation here and the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month website.

 

For over 40 years, Amerasia Journal has played a part in helping to build and continue the visibility, as well as preserve the histories, of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. In honor of this month and in recognition of our complex stories and struggles, the UCLA Asian American Studies Center Press is pleased to be able to offer 50% off all back issues of Amerasia Journal. This means that each copy will cost $7.50 plus applicable sales tax for California residents and shipping & handling. Purchase multiple issues and get an even deeper discount – 4 issues for $25. This offer excludes the two most current issues – 38:1 Los Angeles Since 1992 and 37:3 Transoceanic Flows.

Check past the jump for a partial list of some of the back issues we have available (click on links for the journal index). You can also view a list of most of the available issues on our website and on our Metapress site.

To order, contact the AASC Press Office by phone 310-825-2968 or via email at aascpress@aasc.ucla.edu. Continue reading →

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PIEAM Pasifika Living Arts Showcase, May 5-6 in Long Beach

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Amerasia Journal blog

 

Our friends at the Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum (PIEAM) are holding the second annual Pasifika Living Arts Showcase on May 5-6 in Long Beach, CA.  PIEAM collaborated with the UCLA Asian American Studies Center and Amerasia Journal this past February for Teaching the Pacific, which helped launch our recent special issue on Pacific Islander Studies, “Transoceanic Flows: Pacific Islander Interventions across the American Empire.”  Below is the press release for the Pasifika Living Arts Showcase; further information on the two-day event can be found at the PIEAM website.

Long Beach, CA – The Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum (PIEAM) presents its 2nd Annual Pasifika Living Arts Showcase on May 5-6, 2012, 12-5pm.  This is a free event and will be held at PIEAM and at the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA).

Pasifika Living Arts Showcase will feature hands-on workshops and performances by traditional artists and cultural specialists representing the Pacific Islands diverse cultures. Demonstrations include the art of tattoo, weaving, wood carving, traditional dances, fire knife, coconut candy making, taro pounding, ukulele music, fish net throw, storytelling, face painting, cooking, artifacts display and much more. Audience members will have an opportunity to participate in each arts demonstration. This will be on a first come first serve basis. In addition, there will be a film screening of Skin Stories and Rising Waters: Global Warming and the Fate of the Pacific and a contemporary youth art show in partnership with Pacific Talent Academy.  All master artists and demonstrations will be documented to use for educational programs and school outreach.

Community vendor tables will be selling one-of-a-kind art pieces, crafts, and food. Each vendor table will offer a traditional hands-on-activity for participants. Come try on traditional Yapese grass skirts, twirl poi balls, learn to weave, get your face painted, and much more.  Also, PIEAM museum tours will be on-going.

“The event is an opportunity to document Pacific Islands’ living arts, educate, inspire and create generation of artists to come,” says Brenna Barrett, PIEAM museum director.

If people are unable to attend but would still like to participate, follow our free live webstreaming at www.pieam.org/pasifikalivingartsshowcase.

PIEAM’s mission is to incorporate the diverse cultures of the Pacific Islands, into a permanent collection, educational programs, rotating exhibits, and living arts.

The museum is located at 695 Alamitos Avenue. The main entrance faces Alamitos Avenue just south of 7th Street.  Free museum parking is available at 644 Alamitos Avenue next to Café Viva or at MOLAA, 628 Alamitos Avenue.

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UCLA Bunche Center Event: Los Angeles “Riots”: Making Sense of the Fires (April 26, 2012)

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Amerasia Journal blog

Our colleagues at the UCLA Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies will be marking the twentieth anniversary of the Los Angeles Uprisings on Thursday, April 26, 2012 with a special event entitled 1992 Los Angeles “Riots”: Making Sense of the Fires.

Thursday, April 26, 2012, 6:00 PM-7:30 PM
Haines Hall 135

Director Darnell Hunt, author of Screening the Los Angeles “Riots” and guest editor of the recently published special issue of Amerasia Journal, “Los Angeles Since 1992: Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Uprisings,” and Bunche Center Visiting Scholar Jordan Camp will lead a discussion of media images of the 1992 Los Angeles disturbances.  The events were triggered twenty years ago on April 29, 1992, when not-guilty verdicts exonerated  police officers caught on videotape brutally beating black motorist Rodney King.   The events —which the Los Angeles Times proclaimed “the worst riots of the century” — resulted in at least 51 deaths, more than $1 billion in property damage, and thousands of arrests.

How will 20th anniversary media retrospectives frame this important moment in American history?  Read more here for Professor Hunt’s thoughts, and join us for screenings and a spirited discussion.

Co-sponsored by the UCLA Academic Advancement Program (AAP).

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