'We Hearby Refuse': School of Education sponsors virtual book launch

UW Tacoma School of Education Dean Rachel Endo is partnering with Tamiko Nimura and Frank Abe to host a virtual book launch in Tacoma of “We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration” (Chin Music Press and Wing Luke Museum).

The School of Education is co-sponsoring the event along with King’s Books. Endo has published three academic books including “The Incarceration of Japanese Americans in the 1940s: Literature for the High School Classroom.” Nimura is a local author and historian. In 2019, she published an oral history of former state Senator Rose Franklin called “Rosa Franklin: A Life in Health Care, Public Service and Social Justice.” Abe wrote and directed the PBS film “Conscience and the Constitution” about the largest organized resistance to Japanese American incarceration during World War II. Abe also won an American Book award for “John Okada: The Life and Rediscovered Work of the Author of No-No Boy.” “We Hereby Refuse” also features artwork by Ross Ishikawa and Matt Sasaki.

The book launch is Tuesday, May 18 at six p.m. “We Hereby Refuse” is a graphic novel that tells the story of three Japanese Americans, from their life before the war to their incarceration as well as their efforts to end their confinement and get the U.S. government to acknowledge their rights as citizens.

The event is free and open to the public but registration is required.

Nimura recently appeared on the UW Tacoma podcast Paw’d Defiance to talk about her new book. You can listen to the conversation below or on Buzzsprout.