DiscoverNikkei.org presents...

Revelations & Resilience: Exploring the Realities of Hapa-ness

What does it mean to be Hapa? Too often, being Hapa/Haafu/Mixed Race is talked about as the tragedy of “not belonging” or the constant burden of “being confused.” The social reality of Hapa-ness, however, defies these myths.

Join four noted members of the Hapa community in an interactive roundtable discussion to explore the revelations and resilience of Japanese Americans of multiracial ancestry. Panelists will invite those in attendance to participate in the discussion and become part of the dialogue as they unveil the meaning of being Hapa within the multi-dimensional world of being Japanese, Japanese American, and American.

Topics to be presented and explored include:

Audience members will receive a bibliography of children’s books along with articles/books on multiracial identity. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to tell your own story and defy the myths!

FREE with Museum admission. RSVP required to 213.625.0414 ext. 2227 or rsvp@janm.org (subject: Hapa program – April 12).

Roundtable Panelists:
Dr. Curtiss Takada Rooks serves as Special Assistant to the Dean of Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts and Assistant Professor of Asian Pacific American Studies whose research activities include ethnicity and culture in community health, along with his work on multiracial/multiethnic identity and family. An active member in the Japanese American community, Dr. Rooks sits on the board of the California Japanese American Community Leadership Council and was advisor to the Hapa Issues Forum board of directors. Born in Camp Zama, Japan, Dr. Rooks shares his Japanese and African American ancestry at home in Culver City with his Sansei wife and daughter.

Dr. Rika Houston is an Associate Professor of Marketing and Consumer Culture at California State University, Los Angeles where she conducts interdisciplinary research on visual consumer culture and critical issues at the intersection of gender, culture, and technology. A community activist, Dr. Houston sits on the Board of Directors for Little Tokyo Service Center. A native of Tokyo, Japan, Dr. Houston celebrates her heritage of Japanese, African American, and Native American ancestry at home in Los Angeles with her Chinese American husband and three children.

Dr. Teresa Williams-Leon is the Associate Dean of the College of Humanities & Professor of Asian American Studies at California State University Northridge. A pioneer she taught some of the very first courses on Asian Americans of multiracial ancestry and has done extensive research on multiracial/multiethnic identity development, including co-editing Sum of Our Parts: Mixed Heritage Asian Americans and No Passing Zone. Dr. Williams-Leon shares her heritage of Japanese and European American ancestry with her Mexican American husband and daughter at home in Los Angeles.

Dr. Tracy Sayuki Tiemeier is Assistant Professor of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA. Holding a PhD in Systematic Theology (with a minor in Comparative Theology) from Boston College, Dr. Tiemeier teaches and researches in the areas of Comparative Theology, Theological Anthropology, Faith and Culture, Asian and Asian American Theology, Feminist Theology, Women in Religion, and Hinduism. Though raised in St. Louis, Dr. Tiemeier celebrates her Los Angeles Japanese American roots with her husband at home in the southland.

Organized by the Japanese American National Museum in collaboration with Curtiss Takada Rooks, Special Assistant to the Dean of Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts and Assistant Professor, Asian Pacific American Studies, Loyola Marymount University.

This program is part of a series presented by Discover Nikkei, a project of the National Museum made possible through the generous support of The Nippon Foundation. Visit DiscoverNikkei.org for related resources.