Description
Book SynopsisThe first biography of Asian American activist and Black Panther Party member Richard Aoki
Trade Review"My friend Richard Aoki was there when Huey P. Newton and I founded our Black Panther Party, discussing political analysis and seeking critique approval of our Ten Point Program. This book is a necessary kind of reading that illuminates my friend’s political revolutionary life’s meaning: Richard Aoki’s reverence." —Bobby Seale, founding Chairman and National Organizer of the Black Panther Party
"Richard Aoki straddled the worlds of ethnicity by the radical bridge he built through his engagement with an authentic, even saucy American radicalism. Diane C. Fujino unearths Richard’s story with sympathy and warmth, and in the process redeems the legacy of a remarkable American radical." —Vijay Prashad, author of The Darker Nations: A People's History Of The Third World
"Samurai among Panthers is a bracing, honest, and revealing biography. The book is a powerful reminder that although social movements operate collectively within social and political contexts, they are ultimately enacted by individuals who, like Richard Aoki, are flawed, complicated, dedicated, and visionary." —Daryl J. Maeda, author of Rethinking the Asian American Movement
Table of ContentsContents
Abbreviations
Introduction: Demystifying the Japanese Radical Cat
1. “My Happy Childhood That I Don’t Remember”
Disrupting the Deviant–Noble Binary
2. “Protecting the Japanese”
The Ungrieved Trauma of Internment
3. “Learning to Do the West Oakland Dip”
Masculinity, Race, and Citizenship in Postwar Oakland
4. “I Was a Man by the Standards of the ’Hood”
Military Misadventures and Cold War Masculinity
5. “My Identification Went with the Aspirations of the Masses”
The Old Left, Third World Radicalism, and Vietnam
6. “The Greatest Political Opportunity of My Life”
Joining the Black Panther Party
7. “Support All Oppressed Peoples”
Founding the Asian American Political Alliance
8. “Learning to Fly on the Way Down”
The TWLF Strike and the Duality of Education
9. “A Community-Oriented Academic Unit”
The Birth of Asian American Studies
10. “An Advocate for the Students”
The Counselor, Instructor, and Administrator
11. “At Least I Was There”
A Rebirth in Activism for Freedom, Justice, and Equality
Epilogue: Reflecting on a Movement Icon
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
