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AT: Yeah, kind of on the same wavelength as that, what are your kind of thoughts on the current Japanese American activism within Seattle or within the JACL in Seattle and kind of beyond that? Being part of the younger generation, I think it's a lot different because it's kind of like this, it almost feels like this, to me at least, it feels like this new wave of activism, just with the younger generation. And you being part of that, I was just kind of interested in what your thoughts are on kind of the trajectory and things like that.

GG: I mean, I'm feeling pretty great about it. [Laughs] Maybe that's a super simple answer but... yeah, honestly, I'm feeling really energized about it. I'm feeling really excited. I'm feeling so... I think now -- I'm about to turn thirty-four and I feel like I'm feeling more centered and in community with other like-minded individuals that I kind of ever have before at any point in my life. And I think I see, yeah, I see like progressive, young Nikkei, not just in Seattle, but like, as I said, on Instagram, and kind of along the West Coast. And they're involved in a lot of progressive causes that I'm really interested in like Black Lives Matter or family separation. Even like climate change and environmental stuff, I'm really seeing a lot of young people taking what happened to our community and letting that inspire them and running with it in new ways and... and I think it's just, yeah, like through JACL, too, I've met a lot of people who are my age too and even are also mixed race Nikkei, which is so heartening as well. People like Sarah Baker and Toshiko Hasegawa and just to be able to be in community with people who share a similar experience for me feels like a very big deal because that's not something that I really had growing up. So I'm feeling really excited and energized, and I think that the issues that are, that I'm seeing that are important to this generation are really issues that matter to me as well. And so I'm, yeah, I think that we're doing the work and we're going to keep carrying on the torch and we will continue to, I hope, make our elders and ancestors proud.

AT: Yeah. And I don't want to take up too much of your time and I have to get to something later, but just like as a couple closing questions, if there's anything else that you would want to mention, and then also if there is any other people or events with JACL that you think we should consider and... or people we should contact or yeah, just anything else that you think is important to talk about?

GG: Yeah, are you reaching out to Sarah and Toshiko? [Laughs]

KK: We have a list and we're trying to figure out how to actually address that list because that list is getting pretty long.

GG: Yeah, yeah.

KK: But really important. So, yes, everything that you said is, kind of validates the fact that we definitely are going to figure out how to connect and reach out to those people as well as the ones who are in a prior generation. So, yeah, work in progress.

GG: Yeah, I'm trying to think about other JACL events. I'm not... nothing's really coming to mind. Yeah, I think it's just so... one thing I'm always -- I think I already kind of touched on this before, but I think that I'm always just so struck by how nourishing this community is. It's... I think it's kind of rare, sadly, for millennials and Gen Z and young people to get a chance to work intergenerationally with other, yeah, like in an intergenerational community. That kind of strikes me as rare, I feel like. And it's really a shame because I think it's been so nourishing for me personally. I don't know why that seems like it's hard to come by, but I feel like I'm not... I'm only in intergenerational community in this space in my life. And yeah, I think that, I see my other activist friends, they're often in more youth oriented movements, or yeah, I just, I don't see elders in a lot of these other movements. And I think that that's really a shame because I think that we, I don't know, I think that we kind of all need each other. I think we kind of need each other. And that's just my, that's just my own opinion anyway. So I'm just really grateful to get to do this activism in collaboration with people of different, people of different ages and have different lived experiences that they're bringing in. That's a really special thing about JACL.

AT: Yeah, I definitely agree. I think it's cool to work with people that are in different ages too because the perspectives are so different.

GG: Yeah.

AT: I mean, we all have the same end goal, too. So it's like, those different perspectives, it's important to get all those.

GG: Yes, because I think too, like in our anti-racism work, particularly as someone who is partially white myself and has that extra bit of work that I need to do, I'm always thinking about what kind of ancestor do I want to be or what kind of elder do I want to be. And I think that, being in the intergenerational community, it's like, you have those role models that can help take you through the life cycle in a way and can kind of like shepherd you along your life path. And it's, I am a millennial, still, but like, but you know, I have two kids now. I'm going into my next phase in a way of, I'm becoming, I'm learning to more be like the auntie and like the mentor, and I'm reaching that next place, and it's helpful that I just love that I'm both the young person -- in my community, it's like, I am that young person who can learn from my elders, but I'm also the auntie who can teach, and I just love that beautiful reciprocity. Audrey Remley, Kyle, who's also previously a JACL member, she just got a job, I helped her get a job at my daughter Kiyomi's preschool, which is the Pike Place Market daycare and preschool. And I gave her, of course, a glowing recommendation. But I was like, "Oh, Audrey is like my little sister" and she and I worked together on the mixed race series. And she, so Audrey is Nikkei and Black and Native American. And I think has really struggled with her racial ambiguity, with looking different, with not feeling Asian enough, but just not really being sure where she belongs. And JACL is the community that brought us together. And I've, I feel like she's a little sister to me. And, so yeah, I'm really like, I'm relishing, like stepping into that auntie role, and I feel like JACL has prepared me for that place in the community.

AT: Yeah. That's cool. And I think it's really -- this is off topic, but I think it's really interesting that you're a millennial, so technically a generation above, but we're also both Gosei, so that's interesting to me. Well, if there's nothing else that you'd like to bring up, I just want to thank you so much for meeting with both of us today. I know with kids, it's really difficult to find time to just sit down for even an hour. But yeah, thank you so much and we got a lot of information so...

GG: Good.

AT: Yeah.

GG: Well, really great to meet you, Ana. And really a pleasure to see you, Kyle. And, yeah, this is such a fantastic project that you're working on. I'm so delighted that this is happening. So thank you for including me.

AT: Yeah.

KK: Yeah. And I'd have to echo all of that. By the way, it's like you almost wrote the introduction of the project in this last couple of comments about why we're doing this. But and we're still in the process of trying to figure out how to actually represent all these experiences that we're gathering. But we definitely want to get back to the folks who responded to us to kind of explain how that happens. But boy, that's another work in progress. And I know we'll be processing afterward how to actually put all of this amazing, amazing account together. So, yeah, so we'll be in touch after this.

GG: Great, great. Well, thank you both.

AT: Thanks so much.

KK: Thank you.

<End Segment 9> - Copyright © 2021 Seattle Chapter JACL. All Rights Reserved.