Curtiss Takada Rooks

ctrooks

Dr. Curtiss Takada Rooks is Program Coordinator of Asian Pacific American Studies and Assistant Professor at Loyola Marymount University whose research addresses ethnic and multiracial community and identity. He also serves on the US Japan Council Board of Directors, Japan America Society of Southern California, Board of Governors and is a member of both the West Los Angeles Japanese American United Methodist Church and Senshin Temple Adult Buddhist Association (S.A.B.A).

Updated December 2020

culture en

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

Wonder

By Curtiss Takada Rooks, Mariko Fujimoto Rooks, traci kato-kiriyama
17 Dec 2020

To close out 2020 and recognize it as a time of challenge, reckoning and coming together, we are excited to end on a strong and beautiful note with this month's feature. We are happy to host the return to Nikkei Uncovered by Mariko Fujimoto Rooks and, this time, feature Mariko alongside her father, Dr. Curtiss Takada Rooks (while it's his first time in this poetry column, he is certainly no stranger to Discover Nikkei). You'll want to check out essays from both of them on the Discover Nikkei site, but first - heed their collaborative piece, this intergenerational wondering and poetic weaving,…

identity en

Reflections on Being Mixed, but Not Mixed Up

By Curtiss Takada Rooks
6 Jul 2020

My mother was Japanese. My father was Black (African American). My father was Black. My mother was Japanese. I am Black. I am Japanese. I am both. I am Japanese. I am Black. I am both. Born during the post-WWII occupation and establishment of an ongoing U.S. military presence in Japan, my existence, and hence my “mixedness,” exists in the conflicting nexus of human interaction and government policy as both the U.S. and Japan eschewed interracial relationships, particularly among non-commissioned officers and enlisted men. But, human nature prevailed over policy, resulting i…

identity en

On Being Japanese American

By Curtiss Takada Rooks
26 Oct 2007

The U.S. military occupation of Japan following World War II resulted in the largest cohort of Japanese immigration of Japanese to the U.S. since the 1924 Immigration Act. This migration of Japanese women married to U.S. soldiers drastically changed the make up and complexion of the Japanese American community as these immigrant interracial American and Japanese families brought with them multiracial Japanese/Japanese American children. What does it mean to be Japanese? To be Black? To be both, at the same time. To be sure the world sees me as Black—I’d say African American but …

Submit an article

Discover Nikkei

Japanese migrants and their descendants

Curtiss Takada Rooks

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

Wonder

Reflections on Being Mixed, but Not Mixed Up

On Being Japanese American

Series this author contributes to

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

Featured Articles

Telma Shiraishi Gives a Unique Flavor to Japanese Cuisine with Brazilian Ingredients

Grammy-Nominated Musician Masa Takumi and His Move to the U.S. in 2018

Two Worlds: The Life and Photography of Wakaji Matsumoto

Wakaji Matsumoto: An Artist in Two Worlds

Who is Nikkei? A Conversation with the President of The Association of Nikkei & Japanese Abroad, Mr. Katsuyuki Tanaka

Recent Articles en

Aloha, France — Part 2

Aloha, France — Part 1

Finding Forgiveness: Director Stafford Arima on Bringing the Award-Winning Memoir to the Stage

オハヨウ・ボンディア II

「バッチャン」は人気の言葉

Ancestry and Toxicity: Breaking Free From Old Patterns and Toxic Relationships

Recent Articles JA ES PT

書評：和泉真澄『日系カナダ人の移動と運動―知られざる日本人の越境生活史』

1992年渡米、目標は「アカデミー賞」— 俳優の井上英治さん

Kizuna 2020: Nikkei Kindness and Solidarity During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Tiempos pandémicos: teletrabajo y koden digital

Kizuna 2020: Nikkei Kindness and Solidarity During the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 e os heróis anônimos

香川県海外移民の父：今雪真一の情熱と功績

第３部：金子正則知事の南米訪問とその主な見解

NIMA VOICES

Get updates

Support this project

A project of the

Major support by

Aloha, France — Part 2

Aloha, France — Part 1

Finding Forgiveness: Director Stafford Arima on Bringing the Award-Winning Memoir to the Stage

Ancestry and Toxicity: Breaking Free From Old Patterns and Toxic Relationships

A Letter to My Community Urging Protection of Minidoka

Journal Entry #At Least 4500 Years Old: "Infinite Bands..."

When We Enable Racism

Surrender

Thomas Takashi Nakahara

Pacific Bridges' Innovative Approach to Financial Services

Postwar Japanese Emigration to the Dominican Republic — Part 2: The Japanese American Response

In Remembrance of the Tohoku Earthquake & Tsunami: An Interview with The Hidden Japan’s Derek Yamashita—Part 1

Dutch Leonard - The Ballplayer who challenged Fresno's racism

Toronto Japanese Canadian Duo Releases Groundbreaking EP

Yasuko Aratani—She Never Stopped Dreaming

Tokita Tales—Only in America

Journal Entry #My Top 6: "Holy Crappy Cartoon, Batman!"

Being Blasian

Bill Mauldin – An Artist with a Cause

70th Anniversary of Fukuoka Kenjinkai Mexico

Staff Sergeant Higuchi

Remembering Roger Daniels

Postwar Japanese Emigration to the Dominican Republic — Part 1: A Tragic Tale

Barbed Wire, Guard Tower, Tar Paper Barracks, Roll Call

Lessons Realized

American Dream

Journal Entry #Only 2 Choices: "Do or Not Do..."

Our Man on the Hill: Sidney Yates — Part 2

OBITUARY - Juan Pollo Restaurant Founder Albert Okura, 71

Ask a Historian: How Did Alaska Natives Wind Up Inside Japanese American Concentration Camps?

Celebrating a Century: Nisei War Veteran and Esteemed Journalist Frank Moritsugu Turns 100

Setsuko Moriya — Part 1

The Morgenthau Diaries and FDR's Troubling Views of Minorities

Journal Entry #6am – 8am: "Childhood Delusions..."

In Remembrance of the Tohoku Earthquake & Tsunami: An Interview with The Hidden Japan’s Derek Yamashita—Part 2

Tea with my Ancestors

Journal Entry #15th C. Prose: "Weapons are Bad for Me..."

Maia Harima – Distinctive Fashion Designer

Yoshie Fujiwara and Japanese Americans II: A Day at the (Olympic) Races

Our Man on the Hill: Sidney Yates — Part 1

Flight

Setsuko Moriya — Part 2

The Search for Truth: Piercing Three Layers of Deception

Journal Entry #Lesson 3450: "Sharpen Your Pencils!"