[04-01-2006]Yuri Kochiyama at Yoshi's in Jack London Square

[bigwong235]

the registration deadline is march 11th, by snail mail, so register quick! even though it's hosted by the japanese american women alumni of uc berkeley, you don't have to be a berkeley student/woman/alumni to go.

SAT, APRIL 9: ANNUAL LUNCHEON
Yoshi's Restaurant, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland, CA, 94607
Doors open @ 10:30a.m., begins @ 11:30a.m.
Bento Luncheon & Program

Our annual luncheon to honor our Japanese American Women Alumnae of UC Berkeley (JAWAUCB) scholarship recipients and our Outstanding Alumna will be held on Saturday, April 1, 2006 at Yoshi’s Restaurant, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland California, 94607, at Jack London Square. Doors will open at 10:30 a.m., and the business meeting will begin at 11:30 a.m. followed by the bento luncheon and program. Undergraduate and graduate scholarship recipients will share their academic experiences and goals. These scholars always renew our vision to ensure that deserving students receive financial recognition. There will be an election for Directors of JAWAUCB. This will be an excellent time to volunteer your services for serving on the board. We welcome one and all. Presently, members of the Board come from many places in northern California with the meetings held in a central location.


Keynote speaker will be Yuri Kochiyama, nee Mary Nakahara, who was born in 1922 in San Pedro, California. Her family was among the interned Japanese-Americans sent to the Jerome, Arkansas Relocation Center. She married Bill Kochiyama, a 442nd Infantry veteran, shortly after leaving the camp, and moved to New York City. In 1960, the family moved to Harlem and lived in a low-income housing project surrounded by Latino and black families. It was in this neighborhood that Yuri at the age of 40 began her political activism. She became involved with other parents in a grassroots movement to get safer streets and integrated education. She was acquainted with Malcolm X and was present when he was assassinated. Over the years, Kochiyama has dedicated herself to various causes like rights of political prisoners, nuclear disarmament, and reparations to Japanese Americans who were interned.

Taeko Joanne Ono Iritani, 1951, has been selected to receive the Outstanding Alumna Award in recognition of her contributions to her community. Ms Iritani is the current president of JAWAUCB, president of the Ikebana International Sacramento Chapter, Secretary of the California-Nevada Conference United Methodist Women, Secretary of the Sacramento United Methodist Union, Secretary of the Conference Commission on Archives and History, and the chairperson of the Florin Japanese American Citizens League Oral History Project.

We look forward to seeing you on Saturday, April 1, 2006 at Yoshi’s Restaurant.
JAWAUCB Board of Directors