Helen Yoshida

Helen Yoshida is the Communications Writer at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM). She holds a bachelor of arts in English from the University of California, Irvine, and a master of arts in History, with a focus on oral history, from California State University, Fullerton. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, The Oral History Review, Kokoro Kara, and JANM’s blog, First & Central, among others. (Photo: Toyo Miyatake Studio)

Updated May 2022

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Meet William Fujioka, the New Chairman of the JANM Board of Trustees

  • By Helen Yoshida
  • 18 Oct 2022
William “Bill” Fujioka is the new chairman of the JANM Board of Trustees. Born in Boyle Heights, he moved to Montebello, California, at a young age. He still recalls the racism he encountered during the 1950s and ’60s. Many men in his neighborhood fought in the Pacific Theater during World War II and had family members who were killed by the Japanese army. The amount of racism he encountered growing up was significant. “I was called Jap, not once a day, but many times a day as a child and teenager. Someone would ask if I was a Jap and when I stated I was Japanese, the…

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Thanks a Million, Norm!

  • By Mia Russell,  Helen Yoshida
  • 20 Jun 2022
Norman Y. Mineta, Board of Trustees Chair at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM), was a fount of inspiration for the younger generation. An extraordinary leader and mentor, Secretary Mineta inspired careers in a range of disciplines, exemplified kindness and diplomacy, and recognized the potential in everyone. His light lives on in all of us. On Saturday, June 25, 2022, JANM will host a Celebration of Life in his honor. Read on for our memories of Norm and more details about the upcoming event. * * * * * Rob Buscher (President of the Philadelphia JACL and board chair of the Phila…

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JANM Volunteer Reflects on Southern California Roots and World War II Experiences

  • By Helen Yoshida
  • 30 May 2022
Barbara Reiko Mikami Keimi has been volunteering at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) with her husband, Hal, before the Museum opened to the public in JANM’s Historic Building in 1992.  “I never realized how much my parents protected us until I was an adult and my husband, Hal and I became volunteers at JANM,” said Keimi. Keimi’s roots in Los Angeles and Orange County, California, run deep. She was born Barbara Reiko Mikami in 1935 to Chihiro Harry Mikami and Fumiko K. Mikami. Chihiro was born in Japan and Fumiko was born in Buena Park, Californi…

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