Storied Lives

"Okihiro argues that while we give much scrutiny to racism and its negative impacts, we pay too little attention to anti-racism—the acts of resistance to injustice, however small, that lead to empowerment of the oppressed and ultimately to the democratization of all of society. Storied Lives illuminates a heretofore little-known episode of anti-racist struggle during some of the darkest hours in American democracy."

"This significant work illuminates one facet of a story the larger dimensions of which are quite familiar, yet in personalizing the faces depicted in yearbooks and showing how difficult their achievements were, [Okihiro] has rendered an important service to the larger field of Asian American studies."

"This book is a welcome expansion of our knowledge and perspectives about the education of American minority groups."

"Okihiro explores new territory in the field of Asian-American history by illuminating the story of the Nisei and their selective release from internment camps to attend colleges during World War II. Due to the quality and quantity of the primary source material available to him, Okihiro has been able to provide valuable insight and expose the emotional depth of these students whose lives are revealed through their own words and deeds."

"Throughout the wartime years when Trudy King and I worked as volunteers in the National Student Relocation Council we had a constant sense of making history. We often talked about the book that we were going to write when the war was over, a book that would tell the story of the nisei students in their own words, but I was unable to do it. It was simply too painful. Gary Okihiro has done a splendid job! All we dreamed of for the book he has done."

"This is a solid contribution that will add substantially to our growing body of knowledge and will be useful in rethinking current attitudes towards racism and anti—racist movements. In so doing, it will contribute towards a more generous and less cynical view of race relations."