Nikkei Progressives & NCRR Joint Reparations Committee:

Reparations Educational Resources

Please note: This is a living document that is constantly being updated and expanded.

Document sections: on

Who We Are and Who We Are Building With

NP/NCRR Reparations Committee:

  • The NP/NCRR Reparations Committee is a joint committee that benefits from both the history of NCRR’s (Nikkei for Civil Rights & Redress/formerly the National Coalition for Redress/Reparations) grassroots work on Japanese American redress and its legacy of solidarity and the energy of Nikkei Progressives’ current solidarity building.  The two groups came together in 2020 with a desire to support reparations for African Americans and an understanding that we needed to learn more about Black history and why reparations “ is owed and long overdue.”  This process prepared us to express support for HR 40 when we were asked to speak before the House Judiciary Committee in January 2021.
  • When the NP/NCRR Reparations Committee formed in 2021, learning continued to be a key part of the committee’s work whose meetings begin with an educational piece.  We also believed it was important to engage in this work with grounding principles which included following the leadership of Black leaders and organizations.  NP members had already been engaged in lobbying efforts for AB 3121, legislation to establish a California Reparations Task Force and had joined the Why We Can’t Wait Coalition to support HR 40, a federal bill to establish a commission to study and make recommendations for African American reparations.  Since our first program on the solidarity of Japanese Americans and African Americans Black Reparations, the committee has spoken on panels, conducted workshops, built relationships with Black organizers and reparations coalitions, attended and spoken at the CA 3121 Task Force hearings and continued national lobbying efforts, helping to form the National Nikkei Reparations Coalition with JACL, Tsuru for Solidarity and others in 2022. NP/NCRR endorsed the Task Force Final Report and supports efforts for future reparations legislation.
  • Short video about our work: https://youtube.com/watch?v=k5kxaNxxFeo&t=1s 

  • Short clip of Japanese American camp survivors and descendants testifying during the 1980s Redress Movement (Steve Nagano, “Speak out for Justice,” edited from the LA Hearings of the CWRIC in 1981): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdtqHokzEC0

National Nikkei Reparations Coalition (NNRC):

Seeds of the National Nikkei Reparations Coalition, officially formed in April 2022, were planted in 2021 when several JA orgs and individuals nationally (Nikkei Progressives/NCRR, JACL, Tsuru For Solidarity, and San Jose Nikkei Resisters) joined together to send 300 letters to House leaders in support of HR 40 by and lobbied together in person and over Zoom in 2021 and in 2022, including a 12-hour marathon of calls, letter writing, and community discussions.  These groups had a chance to come together for an in-person Reparations Happy Hour at the Far East Lounge in July 2023 during the JACL Convention in Little Tokyo.

NNRC’s Principles of Unity for Black Reparations:

  • We believe Black reparations are owed and long overdue: This country was founded on and built its wealth by kidnapping, enslaving, and murdering Black people. Demands for reparations have been made for centuries, yet there has been no repair and no justice for the enslavement of Black people and the vestiges of slavery that linger in the nation’s policy, carceral* system, institutions, and day-to-day violence and harm Black people face. The United States has not acknowledged, or made repairs for the violence it has inflicted on Black people, and reparations are long overdue.

  • We believe Black reparations are possible: Other countries have done it (Germany); the JA redress movement shows that the US can apologize and enact reparations; and there have been several successful initiatives in this country (not at the national level): municipalities like Evanston, Illinois (Chicago suburb); counties like the case of Bruce’s Beach (LA County returning Manhattan Beach property to the Bruce family); universities (reparations to HBCUs); state initiatives like AB3121 in California (Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans); corporations (demands for Bank of America to pay reparations).

  • Black Americans have the right to determine their own path to redress and reparations: Japanese Americans had the right to determine our own path for redress, and we believe in the same agency for Black Americans. While we should reflect on our own fight for redress as a part of our own healing and political work, we should avoid offering instructions or prescriptions that fail to acknowledge the difference between the political, historical, racial, and anti-Black institutional context that HR40 and the Black reparations movement is taking place in compared to the CWRIC bill and the JA redress/reparations movement.

  • We recognize and acknowledge the leadership of and center Black (allied) organizations and Black organizers: We are part of the H.R. 40 Coalition, a 360+ member coalition including Black legacy reparations organizations such as N’COBRA** and NAARC***, and our collective agenda is guided by and in conversation with Black reparations organizers. Our advisors include Black leadership from the Reparations Movement and H.R. 40 Coalition - Kenniss Henry, Dreisen Heath, Jarrett Smith, and Rev. Mark Thompson.

  • We are mobilizing the Japanese American Community in Coalition: As a coalition we are building the JA and Asian American base for the larger movement. We will continue to identify and grow relationships with other Nikkei people and organizations. It is our role to engage, organize and bring along as many Nikkei as we can.

  • ​​We acknowledge the diversity of views and approaches by organizations, institutions, and individuals in the Black community: During our own redress movement, there were many differing perspectives on strategy and ultimate goals, and principled unity was something that the grassroots forces struggled to achieve across all sectors of the Japanese American community. We will participate in the movement for reparations for the legacy of slavery in the same manner, respecting the leadership of the Black community and committing to  our own long-term and on-going commitment to racial justice and dismantling systemic oppression.

  • We have a commitment to keep learning and relearning: We will continue to learn about the history of reparations and the aftermath of slavery; reflect on and evaluate JA redress; and learn about the diversity of thought and experience in the America’s Black communities.

This is a living doc. We honor that it will likely evolve as we build our coalition, learn, and become more rooted in the movement for Black reparations. Conversation, reshaping, and additions to our Unity principles are welcome.

*carceral” is defined as “of, relating to, or suggesting a jail or prison” (Webster).

**N’COBRA=National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America 1987 (officialIncobraonline.org)

***NAARC=National African American Reparations Commission 2015 (reparationscomm.org)

To Join theNational Nikkei Reparations Coalition as an organization co-sponsor:

Email Lisa Doi, Organizer:  Idoi@tsuruforsolidarity.org

To receive occasional email updates, sign up here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc6wIGKOFErs-sHGmPnPA88flR0malHacua-hc_SQ0tb78Csw/viewform?usp=sf_link 

Alliance for Reparations, Reconciliation, and Truth:

ARRT’s mission is to educate the public about reparations; amplify the California Reparations Task Force’s report and its recommendations; achieve broad-based, multi-racial public support of reparations; and grow the base of multi-racial and multi-sector allies who support reparations in California.

ARRT is a collaboration between the Black Equity Collective, the California Black Power Network, Catalyst California, Equal Justice Society, Live Free USA, Live Free California, and six former members of the California Reparations Task Force – Dr. Cheryl Grills, Lisa Holder, Dr. Jovan Scott Lewis, Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, Senator Steven Bradford, and Donald Tamaki.

Tsuru for Solidarity:

Tsuru for Solidarity’s Redress & Reparations Working Group believes that as an ethnic group who has received an apology and reparations from the federal government for wrongs committed against us, Japanese Americans have a moral imperative to support the Black people seeking a similar path for a structural remedy.  We also have moral authority to stand in solidarity with other communities: especially a community targeted by historic racism seeking accountability and a process for redress and reparations. Our mission is threefold:

  • Educate Japanese American communities about supporting efforts for reparations.
  • Back Black led advocacy to pass HR40.
  • Build relationships with Black led reparations movement.

Yuri Kochiyama Solidarity Project:

The Yuri Kochiyama Solidarity Project’s mission is to carry on Yuri’s legacy – her passion for justice and lifelong commitment to connecting people, communities, and organizations to each other by:

  • Working to strengthen BIPOC solidarities domestically and internationally, building community through art and activism.
  • Providing learning resources for educators and young people.
  • Promoting anti-racism and radical solidarity with all oppressed peoples.
  • Amplifying and connecting BIPOC community builders, organizations, and movements in the United States and beyond.

BLIS Collective:

The BLIS Collective sparks radical collaboration and narrative alignment between and within Black, Indigenous, and transformative social movements to repair, decolonize, and reshape culture. They envision and are building toward a society that has collectively reckoned with the harms of slavery, colonialism, and racial settler capitalism and commits to repairing that harm through transformative policy and cultural change.

Action Items (particularly for Japanese Americans)

  1. Join the National Nikkei Reparations Coalition https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zfWsqVzN-T2gRPtHKh9KZ4zjiGJwd5x9p6ARt_7DfSk/edit?usp=sharing 

  1. Learn about and endorse the Alliance for Reparations, Reconciliation, and Truth (a new and expansive California-based reparations coalition):

https://alliancefor.org/ 

  1. Sign up to be an individual volunteer with the NP/NCRR Reparations Committee (sign up for phone banks, letter writing campaigns etc.) (email us at nikkeiprogressives@gmail.com)

  1. Ask our committee to lead an Educational Workshop on Reparations for your local community or social organization (email us at nikkeiprogressives@gmail.com)

  1. Continue to study and learn about reparations (study the CA Task Force report) and connect with local reparations efforts. Endorse the report: https://supportreparations.org/endorsements/

  1. Sign up to volunteer with Tsuru for Solidarity’s Redress & Reparations Working Group. (register here)

  1. Subscribe to the Yuri Kochiyama Solidarity Project’s newsletter. (sign up at the bottom of the page)

  1. Watch Regina H. Boone’s NHK documentary, A Vanished Dream: Wartime Story of My Japanese Grandfather, which uncovers the traumatic history of her family’s life in the segregated South during and after WWII. Regina’s grandfather, Tsuruju Miyazaki, was incarcerated at Fort Howard (Maryland) and Jerome/Rohwer. (Aug 2020)

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/3004674/

  1. Visit the New York Japanese American Oral History Project, whose mission is to identify and preserve the rich and diverse history of those of Japanese heritage, important to the historic diversity of New York City. jaany.org/education/oral-history-project/

  1. Watch the New York Japanese American Oral History Project’s videos, which raise awareness of the under-documented community of Japanese Americans who relocated to New York in the post-WWII era, affecting women, children, and families who worked to rebuild their lives.

https://vimeo.com/user104478049

  1. Read about the Yamamoto-Syphax family.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/business/reparations-slavery-japanese-american-internment/

  1. Join us in Tulsa in 2025 and support reparations for the survivors of the 1921 massacre.

  1. Watch the Greenwood Is Still Burning documentary.

https://youtu.be/HsntELVEdc8?si=mM5WB2xdxirb6yPn

  1. Read the Stillwater News Press’s article about the NCRR/NP/Tsuru for Solidarity/NNRC panel at the Black Wall Street Legacy Festival.

https://www.stwnewspress.com/news/legacy-and-history-are-different-concepts-black-wall-street-panelists-say/article_5e8d5cbc-de18-552b-9fff-62da2bd953a7.html

Japanese American Solidarity for Reparations

Nikkei Progressives & NCRR Reparations Committee Video

⇒ featuring parts of Kathy Masaoka’s Congressional testimony in support of HR 40

⇒ featuring parts of Miya Iwataki’s testimony at a California Reparations Task Force hearing

https://youtube.com/watch?v=k5kxaNxxFeo&t=1s 

Kathy Masaoka’s Congressional testimony in support of HR 40 (start at 47:50)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoWfrexyi84 

Miya Iwataki (and Ron Wakabayashi and Mitchell Maki) at a California Reparations Task Force hearing September 24, 2022 (start at 1:04:42)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww2mdFtsV6c 

Pay the Tab Podcast with Kathy Masaoka and traci kato-kiriyama

https://www.youtube.com/live/HGHgeT2sZFw?si=psDgMAaVBT9mwuPd 

Steve Nagano - Speak Out for Justice / Japanese American camp survivors and descendants testify about their experiences (Edited from the LA Hearings of the CWRIC in 1981)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdtqHokzEC0

The Guardian, Think reparations are impossible? The story of Japanese Americans proves otherwise (Sep 2023)

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/04/japanese-americans-incarceration-reparations-slavery 

Japanese American Camp Survivors’ Letter in support of HR 40 (Nov 2020)

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e8e0d3e848b7a506128dddf/t/605f5f9f5ded127ce8102cc2/1616863135830/Japanese-American-Survivors-Letter-re-HR-40.pdf 

NBC, 'Because we know it is possible': Japanese Americans join fight for reparations (Jan 2022)

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/-know-possible-japanese-americans-join-fight-reparations-rcna11256 

Rafu Shimpo, Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Commission Hearings and Continuing the Legacy of Redress (August 2021)

https://rafu.com/2021/08/celebrating-the-40th-anniversary-of-the-commission-hearings-and-continuing-the-legacy-of-redress/ 

LAist, Japanese American Activists Demand Reparations For Black Americans (July 2021)

https://laist.com/news/japanese-american-activists-call-for-reparations-for-black-americans-hr-40 

Rafu Shimpo, JAs Speak Up for H.R. 40: Commission on Reparations for Slavery and Its Legacy (on Kathy Masaoka’s testimony) (April 2021)

https://rafu.com/2021/04/jas-speak-up-for-h-r-40-commission-on-reparations-for-slavery-and-its-legacy/ 

Videos

California's Case for Reparations': An ABC7 Originals documentary (April 2024)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTLXrT_ncw8 

Reparation Information Thought Series: Comprehensive Reparations (Nkechi Taifa)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdCGJ6inKPM 

Ta-Nehisi Coates House hearing on reparations:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcCnQ3iRkys

Kimberly Jones, How can we win:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llci8MVh8J4

John Oliver piece on housing discrimination:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-0J49_9lwc&t=1681s

Darity PBS news hour convo: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/what-would-reparations-for-black-americans-look-like-an-expert-does-the-math

Ta-Nehisi Coates on Democracy Now! (33 min):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml_VAWFHHps

W. Kamau Bell and Nikole Hannah-Jones:

https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2020/08/12/united-shades-of-america-reparations-post-show.cnn

Sandy Darity TED talk on racial wealth gap:

https://www.ted.com/talks/william_sandy_darity_a_blueprint_for_reparations_in_the_us

M4BL teach-in, 6/3/21 (1hr 27min):

https://m4bl.org/events/reparations-101-a-reparations-teach-in/

Brookings webinar, 4/27/20 (1hr 18min):

https://www.brookings.edu/events/webinar-reparations-for-black-americans-whether-why-and-how/

NAARC collection of videos:

https://reparationscomm.org/reparations-resources/#reparations-videos

American Constitution Society webinar:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4BxeVUVtdw

NBCI resources and videos (at the bottom):

https://nbcit.org/reparations/

Trevor Noah on George Floyd:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4amCfVbA_c

James Baldwin on Dick Cavett Show:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWwOi17WHpE

Bryan Stevenson on What the U.S. Can Learn From Germany About Facing the Past:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HFCU8Gffao&ab_channel=NowThisNews

Running List of Videos from Larry Ferlazo:

https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2019/04/12/a-beginning-list-of-the-best-resources-for-teaching-about-reparations/

UC Santa Cruz Darity and Mullen Vid + other links:

https://transform.ucsc.edu/past-event-reparations-for-black-americans/

Debunking Myths about Reparations - Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights:

https://www.clccrul.org/blog/2019/6/17/debunking-myths-about-reparations

John Conyers on HR40, short video (4min):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLGwhSTWKac

Tadaima Program, Why Japanese Americans Should Support HR40 and Reparations for Slavery (Susan Hayase, Steve Phillips and Richard Konda):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcCBEoFAdDw

Spectrum News 1 on California reparations (start at 4 min):

https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/inside-the-issues/2021/05/13/what-reparations-for-california-s-ties-to-slavery-might-look-like#

California AB3121 Task Force meeting recording (July 9, 2021):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YvKLYg1prE&t=750s

Berkeley Convos on AB3121, 2/11/21, 1hr 8min

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTzKJSmzQls

Bruce’s Beach

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/manhattan-beach-bruces-beach-black-family-resort/2630244/

Tulsa Primer, HRW, 5/14/21, 13min

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxMu6J9ufms

Dreisen Heath on Tulsa, 4/20/21, 1hr 12min

https://vimeo.com/540231758

Evanston, 3/23/21, 5min

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/as-evanston-illinois-approves-reparations-for-black-residents-will-the-country-follow

Georgetown, NYT video 4min

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBWP_DrsgbU

“Redressing Racial Injustices Through Reparations and Solidarity” (Langston Bar Association & Japanese American Bar Association) - 1hr 8mn

https://www.facebook.com/mathewsdifferent/videos/364821448602304

Chad Brown (NAASD Spokesperson) Testimony to AB3121 (2/23/22)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF_LBvLoEvU&ab_channel=NAASDL.A.

(related article: https://www.naasd-la.org/announcing_naasd_los_angeles)

Reports and articles

“What is Owed,” Nikole Hannah-Jones:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/24/magazine/reparations-slavery.html 

“The Case for Reparations,” Ta-Nehisi Coates

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/ 

Reparations June resources

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQ_nfgBagnEZPW_dfQducRXVrQvgBsypGw4uo1-UV_Jv1udF_UgXN5iD-SRGltRQyvwoi4P_zzA6yLt/pub?link_id=4&can_id=3e41409ad5a412ce4e913edbd84a6784&source=email-recapping-reparations-june&email_referrer=email_1229004&email_subject=recapping-reparations-june

Gold Chains: The Hidden History of Slavery in California (ACLU NorCal)

https://www.aclunc.org/sites/goldchains/index.html

USA Today thread of articles

https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/opinion/2021/05/31/repairing-america-usa-today-discrimination-reparations-race-racism/7422224002/

University of Minnesota Reparations Syllabus

https://reparations.lib.umn.edu/

ACLU NorCal list of articles

https://www.aclunc.org/sites/goldchains/news/index.html

Rayshawn Ray’s Brookings report

https://www.ptcondo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Brookings-Institute.pdf

Joe Feagin news article
https://www.chicagoreporter.com/the-case-for-african-american-reparations-explained/

Matt Yglesias Vox piece, 2014

https://www.vox.com/2014/5/23/5741294/slavery-reparations-are-workable-and-affordable

10 Things We Get Wrong About Reparations, By Kirsten Mullen & William Darity

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-commentary/juneteenth-reparations-misconceptions-1186060/ 

A Black couple defied racism by renting to a Chinese family. Now comes $5 million in thanks

https://www.yahoo.com/news/black-couple-defied-racism-renting-100051710.html

Russell City

San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians Landback

Georgia Supreme Court Sides with Descendants of Enslaved Ancestors

Newsom Signs & Vetoes Reparations Proposals

Articles on the Question of Eligibility

N’COBRA “Reparations Means Full Repair” (page 5): https://www.ncobraonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Reparations-Means-Full-Repair-2.pdf

M4BL Reparations Toolkit (pages 35-43): https://m4bl.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Reparations-Now-Toolkit-FINAL.pdf 

“Top 10 reasons why lineage-based reparations is a bad plan”: https://thegrio.com/2022/04/11/top-10-reasons-why-lineage-based-reparations-is-a-bad-plan/ 

On CA Task Force decision:

Podcasts

Vox reparations pod

https://www.vox.com/ad/22268535/who-we-are-bonus-episode-revisiting-reparations

Ezra Klein convo with Ta Nehisi Coates and Nikole Hannah-Jones

​​https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/30/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-ta-nehisi-coates-nikole-hannah-jones.html

The American Project

https://www.theamericanproject.us/

Reparations 101 with Steve Phillips

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reparations-101/id1119065616?i=1000483741245

Reparations: The Big Payback, iHeart Radio

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-reparations-the-big-payba-77492333/ 

Pay The Tab Podcast - Double Down on Truth Telling 

Sign on Letters

Why We Can’t Wait Letter

GrassrootsReparations.org Reparations Pledge of Accountability

Support the Alliance for Reparations, Reconciliation, and Truth

Fact Sheets and Informational Resources

M4BL Reparations Now! Toolkit

H.R.40 Bill Text

National African-American Reparations Commission (NAARC) Resources Page

HRW’s written testimony for the HR 40 hearing

The letter to Congress that kicked off the campaign to pass H.R. 40

N’COBRA Page on Reparations

Reparations one-pager20200216.pdf

H.R. 40 Now Resources

This Video Feat. Congresswoman Jackson-Lee, Dr. Ron Daniels, and John Tateishi

Amalgamated Bank Endorsement of H.R. 40 

Dreisen Heath - “H.R. 40: Exploring the Path to Reparative Justice in America”

https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/02/17/hr-40-exploring-path-reparative-justice-america

Letter of Support for HR 40: Japanese American Internment Camp Survivors

U.S. Conference of Mayors Resolution Supporting Immediate Passage of HR 40

Players Coalition Press Conference Supporting HR40

Ben and Jerry’s Statement of Support for HR40

Open Letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi: Support Reparations & Pass HR 40 Now!

Reparations Is On The Ballot – Don’t Be Fooled

Revise HR 40? How About Pass HR 40!

N’COBRA HR 40 Primer - Seize the Time!

Faith Community Declares Reparations and HR 40 Is Overdue

The Case for Reparations in Tulsa, Oklahoma: A Human Rights Argument

Reparations, HR 40, and the Path Forward

2020 Poll: Majority of Americans Support Reparations for Black People

US African American Redress Network

IBW Reparations Resource Center

We Want More Justice For Breonna Taylor Than The System That Killed Her Can Deliver

Reparations – Has the Time Finally Come?

WHAT IS OWED

U.S. cities and states are discussing reparations for Black Americans. Here’s what’s key.

Calling on white Americans: Reparations for slavery are due

Defunding the Police is a Reparations Issue

Materials For/By Faith Groups

Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations Action Alert

2019 Testimony Supporting HR40 by the Right Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton (Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland)

Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism Action Alert

National Council of Churches Action Alert

United Methodist Church Support Reparations for African Americans

ACLU Piece: “Faith, Law and Reparations – A Call Whose Time Has Come”

HRW’s US Program Executive Director Nicole Austin-Hillery & Rev. Mark Thompson, Member of the National African American Reparations Commission (NAARC) and the Black Church PAC discuss the intersection between the Black Church and the case for reparations on Instagram Live: https://www.instagram.com/p/CLXLG03Jzq9/

Media Roundup from Feb. 17, 2021 Hearing on HR 40