SAN FRANCISCO — Bay Area Day of Remembrance 2024 will be held on Saturday, Feb. 17, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Kabuki 8 Theatres, 1881 Post St. (at Fillmore) in San Francisco Japantown. This year’s theme: “Carrying the Light for Justice: Finding Our Way Home.”
The keynote speaker will be Rev. Michael Yoshii, who was the pastor at Buena Vista United Methodist Church in Alameda for 32 years. Under his leadership, the historically Japanese American church become more ethnically diverse and advocated for a wide range of social justice issues.
Ryan Yamamoto, news anchor at KPIX/CBS 5, will serve as emcee.
The Clifford I. Uyeda Humanitarian Award will be presented to Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi, a Palestinian-born scholar, activist, educator and editor. She is an associate professor of Ethnic Studies, Race and Resistance Studies, and the founding director of Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Studies at San Francisco State University.
The program will include a candle-lighting ceremony, a performance by Francis Wong and Friends, and an interfaith purification by the Japanese American Religious Federation.
There will be a procession to the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern Calfornia, 1840 Sutter St., where a reception will be held.
General admission: $10. Free for students. Donations are welcome and greatly appreciated.
For more information, call the National Japanese American Historical Society at (415) 921-5773 or visit http://njahs.org/events/dor24.