RON TAKAKI

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Historian Ronald Takaki, Asian American legend, has died.


by noabsolutes
Share this on Twitter - Historian Ronald Takaki, Asian American legend, has died. Thu May 28, 2009 at 07:16:26 AM PDT
I am sad to report that groundbreaking historian Ronald Takaki died on May 26. Born in 1939, he helped reintroduce the U.S. to Asian America, the people who have been part of this nation from its beginnings and who still struggle to be recognized as Americans today.

Obituary in AsianWeek.

noabsolutes's diary :: ::
Takaki's book Strangers from a Different Shore helped introduce me to a mulitcultural perspective on U.S. history as a college student. Takaki wasn't the first to question the dominant narrative of what the U.S. was in my life. I already knew black American history, growing up as an African-American disappointed with the one month in our calendar devoted to some of the people who looked like me who built this nation, but I was astonished and proud to see Takaki's history break open the myth of an America created by European immigrants from another perspective. In Strangers from a Different Shore, Takaki revises and updates the entire notion of the U.S. as a "nation of immigrants." From his youth in Hawai'i, Takaki knew that he should feel like he belonged to the land where he was born, but in his own community and on the U.S. mainland, he found himself alienated from the country where his family had lived for generations-- some of them had been here longer than those who questioned his place in society.

Particularly as an African-American, it was mind-blowing to read that in different parts of the country, minority groups who live outside the black/white binary see themselves as the challenging presence that makes America more than the sum of its parts. Asian American movements were a vital part of the making of the U.S., from building the railroads to fighting in World War II (which Takaki documents from a multiracial perspective in Double Victory, some time before Ken Burns) to reclaiming their livelihood from internment and confiscation. While Asian Americans have been pitted against other minority groups, especially by the model minority myth and self-serving notions of intelligence and discipline propagated by white supremacists, Takaki wrote with only righteous indignation and constructive criticism to correct the historical record: Asian Americans, indigenous peoples, Latin@s and Chican@s, African-Americans, and yes, European settlers, have all played their part in the great historical dramas that characterize this nation.
Forwarding the notion of the U.S. as multicultural (and the use of that simple, descriptive, but challenging word that has fallen so far out of favor in contemporary parlance) was not a fashionable contemporary choice for Takaki, but an act of political perspicacity on his part. Inspired by his own heritage and the overwhelming evidence, Takaki's work contradicted the prevailing wisdom about the United States. It did not only emerge from East to West, even though Manifest Destiny expanded its boundaries, but it also came into view from the Pacific coast. It did not only offer enduring promise Europeans and temporary gain to immigrants of color, but it placed settlers from different shores on an uneven playing field and challenged them to stay, even when they said to each other, "Go back where you came from." When the United States becomes your home, your entire life may not always be a celebration, you may not always defend everything it says in your name, but you will be able to defend your claims on it as well as anyone else. And you deserve to make those claims, if you ever hope to triumph over the adversity with which life in this country faces you.

Takaki didn't only write history, he made history. He saw himself, and the country, through A Different Mirror. He told us that our history has always been multicultural, that you can make a particular, strident, tenacious claims to being both Asian and American, and that there are always more things going on than you thought. When I was in college, years after reading his work, my peers and professors brought Takaki to campus to give a public lecture. I thought he actually glowed on that stage, but it was the reflection of the capacity crowd, including me; meeting him was a brief but (I now realize) precious privilege. When I think about how much guff one has to take just to explain that Hawai'i is a part of "America," that African-Americans are often critical of the United States but fiercely defensive about our claims to being American, too, that people of color have a demonstrative record of not just fidelity to but leadership on the ideals of this country, often taking on the roles of authors of those ideals, I think I learned much of that from Ronald Takaki's work. Earlier this year, we lost historian John Hope Franklin. I'm just now old enough to start seeing important thinkers two generations ahead of me crossing over, and it's sad, but enriching. When I see white men having conniptionsover the notion that they'll suddenly and unexpectedly find themselves cast as inferior and shut out of opportunities, despite a lifetime of entitlement and the ability to expect a long future of privileged access to enrichment for themselves and their descendants, I'm baffled. Sometimes I laugh so hard I have to pee, but often, I'm baffled-- because I've read history. I want to say, when I witness the ongoing fever-dreams about the possibility that those privileged by the back-sliding bias of our traditional history might fall behind, "I thought you knew." But without historians like Ronald Takaki, John Hope Franklin, Gloria Anzaldúa, Darlene Clark Hine, and Philip Deloria, we would know nothing but illusions.
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Gina Acebo
Remembering Professor Takaki, An Activist, Educator and Pioneer


As we come to the end of this year’s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM), I want to take a moment to remember UC Berkeley Ethnic Studies Professor Ronald Takaki who passed away today.

Now truth be told, I was a wily undergrad student, looking for opportunities to learn more off campus rather than in the classroom itself, but Professor Takaki’s class tapped into something different for me. In lecture hall, he often spoke about the “master narrative” of American history, a pervasive and powerful but mistaken story that this country was settled by European immigrants and that the Americans that count are of white or European ancestry.

He pushed and prodded us to ask the epistemological question, “How do you know what you know?” about this history of the peoples of the United States, especially given the realities of racially diverse of populations in America. While my early Asian American history courses offered a window to glance into my own Pilipino-American history linked with other Asian and Pacific Islander sisters and brothers, Takaki’s class opened up a door to walk through to link the histories, literature and politics of Asian Americans, Chicanos/Latinos, Native Peoples and Blacks.

As a young, third generation Pilipina who grew up in Oakland, I saw my reality and my identity not simply as "Asian American/Pilipina" but also tied to the lives of the Black community with whom we lived in our neighborhood. Professor Takaki's class offered me place to explore and contextualize these experiences. The discussions helped me to recognize that if I wanted the best opportunities now and for the future to be available and accessed to Asian Americans, our well-being, our desire to be counted and our demand for equity was and is inherently tied to how we support and fight for the best opportunities for the Black community as well as other communities of color.

As I worked as a labor organizer and community organizer, my early exposure to Takaki's views on multiculturalism coupled with my change work with racially diverse communities ultimately led me to recognize the importance of multiracial formations for building a racially just society and how we must be vigilant in our commitment to connect our histories, our struggles and our victories.

I'm grateful to have been witness to his enthusiasm for teaching and to have been encouraged and pushed by him to think critically about my history and the history of the country my family now calls home. Thanks Professor.

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PYC

I went to the PYC youth meeting held at Babes home...697 Lum St. I called Alex to join me...but he was fast asleep from working the 2AM - noon shift. A cold, piercing rain prevailed since Edwina left this morning. As I jumped into the door, I was pleasantly shocked to see a room full of kids...along with parents. I described and invited the group to participate in the Symposium. I had to say it quickly since their attention span is not that long. Needless to say, I said it fast and wanted to leave...but...was asked to eat. The table was filled with great Chinese food from Happy Buffet. Gotta check it out for Symposium. In the end, I left knowing another generation of youth is still going strong. Babes is doing great work in keeping our youth in check. I hope to see them all in Symposium mode.

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Edwina left for Hawaii at 7AM. I cannot believe it's already been one year since pappa Lapa passed. She flew first class all the way via Detroit...La...and Hawaii. I'm alone here with Gracey. The morning brought a huge reversal from mid-70s to now mid-50s with a cold piercing rain. Maybe that's Pappa Lapa's way of saying I should've gone...but....I have to stay at work. The recession has affected business with a 20% drop last year. This month looks grim...but...we're holding on. Rest in peace Dad. I really miss you too....

COLONOSCOPY

My test was negative although they removed a very small polyp that was probably non-cancerous. Dr. Johnson did a great job explaining what he was going to do. Before we started, he talked about golfing at Grand Cypress in Orlando with his family. The nurses, Laurie and Liz were very cordial and professional. And Catherine, the post-op nurse was very nice.

The worse part was done the day before when I had to take laxatives and be on a clear, liquid diet. I couldn't believe I started exfoliating contents in my colon. At 3AM, I had to take another 32 oz of a mixture with Gatorade. By morning, I was dumping liquid. With all this cleansing, I really felt great. I believe I lost at least 5 pounds. I entered the proceedure very nervous, but i left relieved. I'm so grateful for my health.