BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//PYVOBJECT//NONSGML Version 1//EN BEGIN:VEVENT UID:events.uid.2427@www.discovernikkei.org DTSTART:20100504T000000Z DTEND:20100504T000000Z DESCRIPTION:<strong>Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival: Program 50</st rong>\n<strong>AOKI</strong>\n\nRichard Masato Aoki was a Japanese America n. At three years old he was interned with his family at the Topaz War Rel ocation Center. He grew up in the mean streets of West Oakland\, ran with a gang\, served some time behind bars\, joined the United States Army\, an d attended Merritt College. Richard Aoki was also a founding member of the Black Panther Party. Aoki passed away on March 15\, 2009 leaving an excep tional legacy for individuals\, present and future\, dedicated to the purs uit of justice and equality. His commitment to give voice and empower peop le who have been oppressed and abused was a gift to the &lsquo\;60s revolu tionaries as well as to generations of Asian Americans. Filmmakers Ben Wan g and Mike Cheng were fortunate enough to follow Aoki in interviews and pu blic appearances in the last five years of his life\, leaving the filmmake rs a treasure trove of insights and truisms from a man who was dubbed in t he &lsquo\;50s ghetto he grew up in as &ldquo\;the baddest oriental to com e out of West Oakland.&rdquo\;\n\nWang and Cheng allowed Aoki himself to n arrate his life story. Luckily for them\, Aoki was a gifted and dynamic sp eaker that could captivate a room of college students or a group of old fr iends at a Black Panther reunion. His retelling of the moment when Huey Ne wton asked him to be a part of their budding organization is one anecdote that never fails to bring cheer as well as inspire. Aoki\, with a uniquely high voice himself\, attempts to imitate Huey&rsquo\;s timbre: &ldquo\;Th e struggle for freedom\, justice and equality transcends racial and ethnic barriers&rdquo\; proclaims Newton to his college friend Aoki. Aoki paints a vivid picture from his eventful youth as a street thug through his prog ression as a college radical when he would become close friends with Huey Newton and Bobby Seale.\n\nThe film also utilizes interviews of Black Pant her dignitaries like Seale and Kathleen Cleaver\, who asserts &ldquo\;(Aok i) was a fried of Huey Newton. There wasn&rsquo\;t an organization that he became a member of. It&rsquo\;s an organization that he helped get starte d.&rdquo\; There are also interviews with legendary Asian American human r ights activist Yuri Kochiyama\, whom\, along with Bryant Fong of the Asian American Political Alliance\, state that Aoki created the militant Asian American. AOKI is a fitting tribute and invaluable document of a man who w as a true revolutionary and cherished leader. His influence on the continu ing efforts to expose oppression and injustice to people of color will be forever felt.\n&mdash\; Joel Quizon\n\n(United States\, 2009).&nbsp\;Dir/W tr: Ben Wang\, Mike Cheng.&nbsp\;Video\, 94 min\, color\, documentary\n\nC OMMUNITY CO-PRESENTER: <a href="http://www.apalc.org/" target="blank">Asia n Pacific American Legal Center</a>\; <a href="http://www.jabaonline.org/" target="_blank">Japanese American Bar Association</a>\;<a href="http://ww w.jacl.org/" target="_blank">Japanese American Citizens League</a>\n<a hre f="http://www.jacl.org/" target="_blank"></a>\n<a href="https://www.ovatio ntix.com/trs/pe/8087985" target="_blank ">BUY TICKETS</a>\n<a href="https: //www.ovationtix.com/trs/pe/8087985"></a>Parking: 24-hr lot parking behind the theater (enter on Spring or Harlem Ln). DTSTAMP:20240419T015144Z SUMMARY:Film Screening: Aoki URL:/en/events/2010/05/04/film-screening-aoki/ END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR