Young Japanese-Americans Honor Ethnic Roots

Young Japanese-Americans Honor Ethnic Roots
The New York Times
August 2, 2004
By MIREYA NAVARRO

The daughter of a Japanese-American mother and a white American father, Ms. Cherry, 24, said her integrated lifestyle allowed for few conspicuous ethnic markers other than perhaps wearing a kimono for Halloween or attending an obon festival.

But last year, she competed for, and won, the title queen of Nisei Week, the oldest Japanese-American cultural event in the region.

“If people in my generation don’t get involved, who’s going to take over?” she asked.

This article contradicts itself. Ms. Cherry says that she identifies as biracial and won’t “takes sides.” Eric Tate co-founded an organization for people who are half or part-Asian (“Hapa”) instead of retreating into a “black” identity.