Alan Nishio

Alan Takeshi Nishio (August 9, 1945 – December 27, 2023) was an American civil rights activist, educator and community leader. He was a prominent figure in the Japanese American redress movement, being a founding member of the National Coalition for Redress/Reparations (NCRR), and played a significant role in the development of Asian American studies in higher education. Born during World War II, in a Californian concentration camp, Nishio dedicated much of his life to the cause of securing redress for the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during the war and promoting awareness of the issue. Additionally, Nishio worked as an administrator and educator in higher education, primarily at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) and also worked to develop community organization to help serve Japanese Americans in Los Angeles.

Early life and education Alan Nishio was born on August 9, 1945—the day of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki—in the Manzanar concentration camp in California, where his parents were imprisoned during World War II. The camp closed shortly after his birth, in November. After his parents left Manzanar, Nishio grew up in Los Angeles, around the Mar Vista neighborhood. He also completed a certificate program in Asian studies at Sophia University in Tokyo in 1972.

Career While a student at the University of Southern California, Nishio served as the acting director of the UCLA Asian American Studies Center (AASC) during its founding in 1969. Nishio, and the other founders, formed the AASC in response to the Asian American Movement and the rise of the Third World Liberation Front (TWLF) to help serve the UCLA student body through education, spreading awareness, and promoting discussion on the topic of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The AASC was founded alongside three other ethnic studies centers in 1969, forming the Institute of American Cultures (IAC) at UCLA in 1969. During the same time, Nishio also worked as the assistant director at the USC Center for Social Action. Concurrently, Nishio also served on the Little Tokyo Service Center Board of Directors from 1984 to 2022, serving as board president for twelve of those years.

In his later years, Nishio served as an advisor to Kizuna, an organization founded in growing young Japanese American leaders, and a charter member of the Japanese American National Museum. Nishio was also involved in the Manzanar Committee—an organization that raises awareness of the mass incarceration of people with Japanese ancestry in the United States during World War II—where he was a keynote speaker in 2020. Nishio served on the board of the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center and advised youth leadership initiatives including Kizuna and the California Japanese American Community Leadership Council.

Activism

Nishio first began his political activism at UC Berkeley, where he participated in the Free Speech Movement. According to Nishio, this experience led him to change his undergraduate trajectory from mathematics to political science. In 1968, Nishio founded the Los Angeles chapter of the Asian American Political Alliance during his time as a doctoral student at USC. LTPRO, during Nishio's tenure, fought to ensure affordable housing to senior citizens and challenged evictions caused by ongoing gentrification of the Little Tokyo community, including a plan to expand the LA Civic Center towards Little Tokyo in the 1970s. While serving as president on the board of directors of LTPRO, Nishio also brought the organization into the redress and reparations movement, he played a role in organizing grassroots efforts to seek a formal apology and monetary reparations from the U.S. government for the incarceration of Japanese Americans during the war. As a co-founder of the National Coalition for Redress/Reparations, he was instrumental in organizing community testimonies that highlighted the injustices faced by Japanese Americans during World War II. This inclusivity led to over 150 testimonies, many from Nisei who had never spoken publicly about their wartime experiences. The emotional impact of these testimonies galvanized the community and underscored the necessity of redress. As noted in a retrospective article, "This issue sent shock waves throughout the community; and unleashed a dormant strength and power and determination within Japanese Americans to fight for and win redress and reparations. The turning point in the struggle, and one which had the deepest impact on many of us, took place during the CWRIC Hearings in 1981 where 750 survivors, mostly Nisei, stood up and testified!"

In 2017, Nishio received the Sue Kunitomi Embrey Legacy Award from the Manzanar Committee.

In 2019, Nishio received the Nisei Week Inspiration Award, honoring his decades of service to the Japanese American community and his role in mentoring future leaders.

The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) awarded Nishio the President's Lifetime Achievement Award at the JACL National Convention in June 2023.

In 2024, Nishio was posthumously honored among fifteen Asian American and Pacific Islander community leaders by the California State Legislature during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Publications Nishio contributed to several publications that documented the struggles and achievements of the Japanese American community:

Nishio, Alan. "The Oriental as a Middleman Minority." Gidra I 2 (1969): 3. Nishio, Alan. "Personal Reflections on the Asian National Movements." East Wind, Spring/Summer (1982): 36–38. NCRR: The Grassroots Struggle for Japanese American Redress and Reparations (2018) - This comprehensive account details the history and impact of the NCRR's campaign for redress. (Chapter 8: Getting Involved and Volunteer Power).

Death and legacy Nishio died due to cancer he was battling for 17 years on December 27, 2023. He is survived by Yvonne Wong Nishio, his wife. Nichi Bei News Rafu Shimpo USC Price School