50 years ago, a movement began to save Japantown tenants in San Francisco from eviction.
Activists organized the Committee Against Nihonmachi Eviction (CANE) to assist threatened tenants and small shopkeepers from redevelopment and gentrification. They also supported the construction of the Japanese Community and Cultural Center, the Hinode Towers and the Kimochi Home for seniors.
CANE stayed active for ten years.
On August 19, the group will commemorate its founding with a reunion 50 years later.
Issei, Nisei and Sansei united “to stop the Redevelopment Agency’s attempt to destroy Nihonmachi,” said Kitty Mah, who is helping to organize the gathering.
A clip from a new film documenting CANE’s efforts to save Nihonmachi will also be screened. Tentatively called Ganbaro! The Fight for the Final Four Blocks, the documentary is by Boku Kodama.
CANE also inspired similar efforts in Los Angeles and San Jose.
“CANE’s legacy of activism continued in the reparations movement of the 1980s,” said Joyce Nakamura, another event organizer.
She said “Celebrating Activism and Community!” will be a theme of the event.
For more information, you can contact [email protected].
(Correction: An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect email address. We apologize for the error).
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Correction: website is [email protected].