A Message From AIISF's Executive Director |
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It’s October! There are a lot of exciting and important things happening this month.
October is when a number of cultural heritage groups are recognized. This month, we say “hello!” to our AIISF friends and family in the Filipino American community (“kamusta!”), the Italian American community (“ciao!”), the German American community (“hallo!”), and the Hispanic/Latin community (“hola!”). And because food is often a huge part of our diverse communities’ celebrations, be sure to catch our current virtual exhibition Tastes of Home before it closes later this month.
While installation of exhibits at the Angel Island Immigration Museum is still slightly delayed, because CA State Parks' boat is out for inspection, we have been keeping busy in our continued efforts to raise awareness of Angel Island’s history and stories. Over the past few months, AIISF staff have attended a number of virtual meetings and conferences including international Zoom meetings at 6 am with our partners at the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience’s Migration Museums Network, the American Alliance of Museums, Dismantling Preservation Conference, and the American Association of State and Local History Conference. This month, AIISF staff will be presenting at the California League of Park Associations Conference and the SF Heritage’s Lecture Series Program.
Finally, a friendly reminder to everyone to participate in the US Census and to vote if you are eligible to. For those who are voting by mail, it is encouraged to send in your ballot earlier as opposed to later due to potential delays.
Wishing health and safety to all of you!
Ed Tepporn
AIISF Executive Director
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Final Weeks of Tastes of Home. Closing October 31! |
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Tastes of Home: Celebrating Immigrant Cultures Through Food is an online exhibition where visitors can feel an increased sense of appreciation and connection to the immigrants in our communities and the foods that sustain them — physically, emotionally, and sometimes economically.
For October, we celebrate 1) Filipino American Heritage Month, 2) Italian American Heritage Month, 3) German American Heritage Day, and 4) the remainder of Hispanic/Latin Heritage Month. We welcome you to explore our exhibit galleries to find more about how these Immigrant Americans celebrate their heritage through food.
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German immigrant Hinrich Cartensen moved to NYC in 1953 to earn some money for his family. He opened two deli's over the next decade. Read more here!
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Second generation Mexican immigrant Leticia Landa leads San Francisco's La Cocina as their Deputy Director. Through her work, she finds ways to support women entrepreneurs while enabling them to do what they love: feed the public. Learn more about Leticia here.
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Cristeta Comerford moved to America from the Philippines when she was 23 to work as a chef. Cris was brought into the White House in 1995 as an assistant chef, and currently hold the position executive chef, making her the first woman and first person of Asian descent in that position. See her story here!
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Immigrant Voices Spotlight |
Last month, the Berkeley City Council recently approved renaming a street after Angel Island immigrant Kala Bagai.
Kala Bagai Way will be located on the two-block eastern area of Shattuck Avenue between Center Street and University Avenue — a block from the Berkeley BART station and UC Berkeley.
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The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) presents CAAMFest FORWARD, a newly reimagined and mostly virtual festival experience.
On October 14-18, 2020, the festival will take CAAMFest to new heights with two unique drive-in experiences, over a dozen live virtual programs, and over 40 films available to watch on our on-demand channel.
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Canciones de la Isla de Los Ángeles / Songs from Angel Island
Join Angel Island State Parks this Thursday, October 8, 2020 at 9:00am (PT) for a bilingual program about the diverse cultural and natural history of Angel Island through music. / Únase a nosotros en este programa bilingüe para aprender sobre la diversa historia cultural y natural de la Isla de Los Ángeles a través de la música.
About PORTS
PORTS (Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students) is a live, interactive, distance learning, video conferencing program that enables students sitting miles away to engage with Angel Island Immigration Station. If you are a parent or student learning at home, please visit the link below to register for one of Angel Island State Park's Home Learning Programs.
In the past, teachers could schedule field trips for their classrooms to Angel Island. While field trip tours are currently paused due to COVID-19, teachers can use this link to schedule a PORTS virtual field trip here.
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Silicon Valley Asian Pacific FilmFest
While they are not in a theater this year, you still have the opportunity to meet and talk with the filmmakers, artists and musicians in their virtual, online festival.
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Everyone Has a Story to Tell. Will You Share Yours? |
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We are looking for former Angel Island detainees and descendants who are interested in sharing their story with the public.
We have been approached by a Stanford University professor and author who is currently working on her next book focused on immigration and detention across the decades. She hopes to conduct extensive interviews with an Angel Island detainee to include as one of the four featured profiles in her upcoming book. The focus of the interview would be on the time prior to detention, their experience on Angel Island, and their life after Angel Island.
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