The Japanese American community has not always broadly welcomed gay, transgender, and queer Nikkei people. It took courage for LGBTQ+ Nikkei to live openly and with integrity in decades past.

Hear from four LGBTQ+ Japanese Americans who are forerunners of making Nikkei communities more accepting: Melvin Fujikawa, Gary Hayashi, Bill Tashima, and Mia Yamamoto. They will be in conversation with moderator Aya Tasaki.

This virtual discussion will also include Barney Cheng, the award-winning filmmaker who directed “Okaeri Voices: An Oral History Project,” a series of short Okaeri-produced documentaries about each of these figures that will be available for streaming during Visual Communications’ upcoming Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

This program is presented in partnership with Okaeri and Visual Communications and is made possible, in part, by the Beyond Two Cents: LGBTQ AAPI Giving Circle.

RSVPs are required using the link below. You will be emailed links and instructions to join the conversation on Zoom. Contact publicprograms@janm.org if you have any additional questions or specific access concerns.

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