By JACL PSW
The JACL Pacific Southwest District, the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute, the South Bay JACL chapter, the Greater Los Angeles JACL chapter and the Torrance JACL chapter announce “South Bay Stories: A Nikkei LGBTQ Forum for Everyone” on Oct. 4 at the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute in Gardena, Calif.
People of all generations are invited to learn more about gender, sexuality and LGBTQ stories in the Japanese American community. A panel of community members will speak to their individual experiences of navigating LGBTQ issues in the Nikkei community, as well as their hopes for LGBTQ inclusion and awareness in the future.
Panelists will include Melvin Fujikawa, a spiritual director and voice coach who served previously as the former senior pastor at the Christian Layman Church in Oakland, Calif.; Traci Kato-Kiriyama, a nationally renowned writer/actor/multiplatform artist/educator/organizer who also is the organizer of the Generations of War oral history and peace education project and director/co-founder of Tuesday Night Project; and Janet Uradomo, a proud mother of an 8-year-old transgender daughter.
In addition, Diane Ujiiye, outgoing executive director of Asian and Pacific Islanders California Action Network, will moderate the panel discussion.
The event, which will take place from 1:30-3:30 p.m., is free and open to the public, with refreshments provided during the reception.
For more information, email Traci Ishigo, program coordinator, at tishigo@jaclpsw.org.
Originally published on September 19, 2014
