Densho

As Densho celebrates its 30th anniversary, we wanted to speak with the person who helped start it all: founding executive director Tom Ikeda.

Tom Ikeda founded Densho in 1996 with a vision that was equal parts technological ambition and community commitment. Over more than two decades as executive director, he helped build the most comprehensive digital archives of Japanese American history in existence, conducting more than 250 oral history interviews himself along the way.

Densho’s Senior Communications & Development Manager Jennifer Noji and Digital Content Coordinator Miya Schilz spoke with Tom about the organization’s origins, its evolution, and what three decades of work has meant to him personally.

Tom reflects: “The thing that really shifted for me was when we did interviews with these 75- or 80-year-old Nisei. We found that some of them were telling, for the first time, what happened to them… You could tell they were just so much lighter from sharing their story. And I remember getting emails and phone calls from the relatives of the person I interviewed saying: ‘what happened during that interview?’”

Tom realized that they not only were working towards the primary goal of preserving Japanese American incarceration history for future generations, but actually also unintentionally helping individuals and families heal from the trauma of incarceration.

This conversation is part of our new "We Are Densho" series, which highlights the people—our staff, board members, supporters, partners, and community members—who have made Densho what it is today.

Read Tom Ikeda's reflections on Densho's origins and his advice for the next generation of Japanese American history stewards — full article at densho.org/catalyst

Today, we’re celebrating what would’ve been Mervyn Dymally’s 100th birthday, and his contributions to the Japanese American community.

It is generally accepted that Redress would not have happened without the support of African American legislators, and as the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus during the time redress legislation was being considered, Dymally may have been the most important figure in garnering that support.

Born and raised in Trinidad of African and South Asian descent, Dymally came to the U.S. for college and eventually began a political career that saw him first elected to the California State Assembly in 1962, then later to the state senate as California’s lieutenant governor. In 1980, he was elected to Congress in 1980, representing a South Los Angeles County district that included Gardena and Torrance, areas heavily populated with Japanese Americans.

Long cognizant of the Japanese American incarceration story, he was an early supporter of Redress, introducing early redress bills in 1982 at the behest of the National Coalition for Redress & Reparations.

He remained in Congress until 1992, and then, after a ten year absence, returned in 2002 to serve three more terms. Dymally demonstrates the importance of allyship and solidarity in movements for justice.