In the decade prior to WWII, the Asian American dance duo Toy and Wing sold out theaters in New York and England, and were featured in three films. While most Asian roles were performed by white actors in yellowface, Toy and Wing broke through barriers constructed by the white entertainment industry and stunned audiences with their undeniable talent.
Member of U.S. House of Representatives representing the Sacramento, California, area since 2005.
Nisei painter, printer and freelance fashion illustrator
The first Japanese American not in a special category allowed to return to the West Coast from the WWII US concentration camps
Guyo Tajiri (1915–2007) joined with her husband Larry Tajiri as editor and staffer of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) newspaper Pacific Citizen during World War II and the early postwar years, and kept the community informed of events through her advice columns, book reviews and reporting.
The 1950-52 California court case Haruye Masaoka v. California (39 Cal 2nd 883) was the final victory in a series of postwar legal cases by Japanese Americans in California courts that led to the demise of the state’s established Alien Land Act.
Southern California Nisei writer of short stories Hisaye Yamamoto (1921–2011) was among the first Japanese American writers to win national renown after World War II.
A leading Nisei activist in the 1940s, Ina Sugihara (1919–2004) was a frequent contributor to the press, both Japanese American and outside, and built coalitions for civil rights across racial lines.
Award-winning poet, dancer, activist and educator Janice Mirikitani (1942–2021) was internationally known and respected for her life-long commitment to addressing the horrors of war and for advocating against institutional racism and the enslavement of women and the poor.
Singer known as the “Songbird of Manzanar.”