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Frank Abe

@frankabe.bsky.social
2.1K followers 254 following 224 posts

Co-editor, THE LITERATURE OF JAPANESE AMERICAN INCARCERATION. Lead author, WE HEREBY REFUSE. Blogs at Resisters.com. Links: linktr.ee

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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
BLOG POST: Congratulations to Densho on thirty years of service to preserve and share the history of the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans. It’s been a remarkable journey for them and one I’ve been pleased and proud to support. resisters.com/2026/09/24/t...
resisters.com
Thirty years of collaboration with Densho | RESISTERS.COM: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Join me at the Brooklyn Public Library on Sat, October 10, for UPRISING/DOWNFALL, a teach-in on Constitutional freedoms and state activity that repressed them." Mike Ishii and I will speak on camp resistance & immigrant detention and deportation today. Register: www.bklynlibrary.org/calendar/upr...
bklynlibrary.org
UPRISING/DOWNFALL: Repression and Resistance in the Making of Democracy | Brooklyn Public Library
In observance of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, UPRISING/DOWNFALL is a public examination of historic milestones of democracy in 20th-century America, with a focus on social...
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
It's an honor to help the Nichi Bei Foundation launch "The Arthur A. Hansen Series on the Japanese American Experience" by writing the introduction to Art's "Return to the Wars: The Redress Diary of James Omura." Learn more and donate here: app.dvforms.net/api/dv/7p0j0d youtu.be/SfB7_Xkkmg8?...
youtu.be
Arthur A. Hansen Series on the Japanese American Experience_Vertical
YouTube video by Nichi Bei
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
NEW PODCAST: A fun conversation about novelist John Okada and NO-NO BOY in this @jamuseum.bsky.social podcast with Koji Steven Sakai and Michelle Malazaki on my life-spanning involvement with the book and current work to adapt it for the stage. japaneseamerica.buzzsprout.com/2314222/epis...
japaneseamerica.buzzsprout.com
S3E8: Unwanted Truth – John Okada and the Book That Wouldn't Stay Silent - Japanese America
When John Okada published No-No Boy in 1957, it was met by the Japanese American community with silence, discomfort, and outright rejection. Okada passed away in 1971 believing his novel was a failure...
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Thanks to the NY Public Library @nypl.bsky.social for adding our @penguinclassicsusa.bsky.social anthology of "The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration" to its list of 250 books for America's 250th. And in such world-class company too. The full list: www.nypl.org/books-more/r...
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Goldy @goldy.horsesass.org · 31/08/2026
The article mentions the area was once home to dozens of strawberry farms owned by Japanese immigrant families who were dispossessed of their land during their WWII internment. It fails to mention that Freeman's grandfather founded the Anti-Japanese League that advocated for internment. Weird.
seattletimes.com
Bellevue's retail core is for sale after 80 years of family ownership
A whopper is hitting the real estate market: The Bellevue Collection, a 5.5 million-square-foot mixed-use complex in downtown Bellevue.
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Some good photos in this Northwest Asian Weekly coverage of our @denshoproject.bsky.social program at the Seattle Public Library centering the poster for the first Day of Remembrance in Seattle. nwasianweekly.com/2026/08/fran...
nwasianweekly.com
Frank Abe presides over remembering the Day of Remembrance
When Frank Abe stepped to the podium last Sunday, Aug. 16, at the International District/Chinatown library, a tall black-and-white poster on a stand stood to his left.
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
For an online conference in November with Université Bordeaux Montaigne in France, I pulled together all my work into one narrative throughline on camp resistance and postwar activism. They titled it, "Activism and the Camp Epic," and have now shared it online here: youtu.be/Lc7CgTFuqM4?...
youtu.be
"Activism and the camp epic, through We Hereby
YouTube video by Université Bordeaux Montaigne
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Thanks to Scott Hoshida for this sidebar in the Nichi Bei News on our workshop on the Lim Report at the recent Tule Lake Pilgrimage. It was great to talk with him there, after meeting through his service on the board of the Mesa Refuge writers residence.
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
50 years ago I picked up bits of broken china at the Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco Bay, back in the day when it was unmanaged. I’ve had these pieces in a box ever sice. Today I was glad to return them to the state park system, with the help of our tour leader, Grant Din.
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
BLOG POST: Why the Japanese American Citizens League @jacl-national.bsky.social must reconcile itself with its own wartime history of government collaboration and suppression of resistance, before it can be free to reconcile with anyone else. #tulelakepilgrimage2026 resisters.com/2026/07/17/r...
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Three years in the making, I finally corrected the transcript and Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social has published their oral history interview with me. A lot to cover, as I say in the HIstory Keepers email that just went out, so it took nine hours over three sessions. ddr.densho.org/narrators/10...
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Gabe Ortíz @tusk81.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
“For survivors of Japanese internment, Dilley’s family detention facility hearkens to the US concentration camps that shuttered 80 yrs ago.” "More than 120K ppl were incarcerated, over two-thirds of whom were US citizens. Still alive today are several survivors who were incarcerated as children.”
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
BLOG POST: After 36-years, it’s time to unpack the 1990 Research Report into the wartime activities of the Japanese American Citizens League. Here’s the inside story of the origins of “The Lim Report," in advance of our workshop at the Tule Lake Pilgrimage. resisters.com/2026/06/26/a...
resisters.com
A brief history of “The Lim Report” and how it came to be | RESISTERS.COM: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration
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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
NEW — I wanted to know if ICE’s newly uncovered plan to offload seven of the 11 concentration camp warehouses was actually a big deal, so I went straight to the expert: Michael Wriston of @projectsaltbox.com, which has been tracking these warehouses every step of the way. Our full convo here:
thehandbasket.co
ICE is offloading seven concentration camp warehouses. What does it really mean?
A Q+A with Michael Wriston of Project Salt Box
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Thanks to @andreapitzer.bsky.social for calling out this win by local communities, whose resistance has stopped ICE from siting 21st century American concentration camps in seven warehouses in Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Utah, and New Jersey. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/18/u...
nytimes.com
ICE Spent $700 Million on 7 Warehouses. Now It Wants to Get Rid of Them.
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Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Featuring further reading recommendations for & tributes to books from @tracyslater.bsky.social, @tamikonimura.bsky.social, @frankabe.bsky.social, & more! americanstudier.podbean.com/e/postgame-p...
americanstudier.podbean.com
Postgame Press Conference | Diamond in the Rough
One of my favorite parts of The Celestials’ Last Game, Season One of this podcast, was the post-game press conference episode, where I got to address some listener questions and responses, continue de...
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
It's an honor to serve as one of the faces of the Mesa Refuge spring fundraising campaign. For fifty years I’ve worked with John Okada’s foundational novel, NO-NO BOY, and wrestled with it for the past five to adapt it for the theater. With two weeks inside this wildlife refuge 1/2
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
PODCAST: In conversation with fellow writers Saiba Varma and Claire L. Evans and host Lyons Filmer on "Mesa Refuge Interviews" on community radio KWMR @kwmrradio.bsky.social in Point Reyes Station, just a short walk down the hill from Mesa Refuge. Listen here: soundcloud.com/user-6932549...
soundcloud.com
April 29, 2026 Frank Abe, Claire Evans, Saiba Varma on KWMR/Mesa Refuge Interviews
The Mesa Refuge a writing refuge in Point Reyes Station, founded in 1997. Our residents are mostly focused on “ideas at the edge” of nature, human economy, and social equity. Here writers and other cr
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Scott Kurashige pulls no punches in turning the fear of the yellow peril on its head with his "American Peril: The Violent History of Anti-Asian Racism." He documents countless examples of vigilante violence and state violence in the face of the current regime's effort to whitewash history.
Scott Kurashige at Third Place Books Ravenna
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Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
If you haven’t yet read the great Toshio Mori, the two stories I highlight in this week’s episode are a great intro to one of our most groundbreaking & important writers—& a moving chronicler of Japanese American incarceration & baseball. 🗃️ @frankabe.bsky.social @palumboliu.bsky.social
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Join us in Portland this Saturday 5/16 for "Lines of Resistance" as Kelly Goto and I join with Lori Matsukawa to "explore how graphic storytelling gives voice to the lived experiences of Japanese Americans incarcerated at Minidoka in WWII. Book signing to follow. Free RSVP: jamo.org/lines-of-res...
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Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Thanks so much, & I'm so glad to hear it! If you have a chance to check it out, I think you'd enjoy this season of my podcast, focused on baseball at Manzanar & the incarceration camps overall: americanstudier.podbean.com
americanstudier.podbean.com
Diamond in the Rough | Ben Railton
Baseball, Bigotry, and the Battle for America, Season Two </p>
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Thanks Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social for such a close read of our anthology, You’ve nailed our thinking behind it. Glad you found it if use.
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Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
So for the first post in my Sabbatical Reads blog series, three of my many takeaways from @frankabe.bsky.social & Floyd Cheung’s groundbreaking, vital anthology The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration (2024)! blackwhiteandread.com/may-11-2026-...
blackwhiteandread.com
May 11, 2026: Sabbatical Reads: The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration – Black and White and Read All Over
[While I did teach a couple online courses during my Spring semester sabbatical, I didn’t have my usual slate of classes by any means. So in lieu of my usual Semester Reflections series, this week I’l...
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Congratulations again to Karen Tei Yamashita on her epic new novel, and thanks to Robert Ito for calling me up to chat about it for the NY Times. Haven't heard from Robert since he reviewed "Conscience and the Constitution" 26 years ago for a film magazine. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/b...
nytimes.com
She Began with Japanese American History. Then She Made Things Up.
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Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
"We've built a rapid response network to stop ICE detention centers before they start. Receive immediate alerts if a facility is planned for your community and help lead the local fight to stop it..." gtfoice.org
gtfoice.org
GTFO ICE — Get The Facilities Out
ICE is rapidly expanding its network of detention centers. We have a playbook to fight back. Sign up to get alerts if a facility is planned near you.
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
More thoughts by George Toshio Johnston in the Pacific Citizen on the effectiveness of the "edutainment" model in podcasts to "tell an important, ever-timely story in an engaging, compelling and, yes, entertaining manner." www.pacificcitizen.org/podcasts-rec...
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
Join us in Portland on May 16 for "Lines of Resistance." Kelly Goto, Lori Matsukawa and I will explore how graphic storytelling — drawn lines of ink on paper — gives voice to the lived experiences of Japanese Americans incarcerated in WWII. Book signing to follow. RSVP: jamo.org/event/lines-...
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
BLOG POST: Highlights of the grim outlook I recently presented at @denshoproject.bsky.social, the AAASAssociation for Asian American Studies - AAAS, and the Seattle Public Library on the use of industrial warehouses for 21st century American concentration camps. resisters.com/2026/04/13/m...
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Kirsti @kst.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
I was able to make it & I'm so glad I went! I especially liked that story about the resister song lyrics carried around on a scrap of paper that, decades later, someone showed to Mako, who knew what the original tune was & sang it.
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Kirsti @kst.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
I'm getting a root canal tomorrow & I'm still not gonna miss this talk by Frank Abe & Tom Ikeda. Alt-text of left image: A poster with "Frank Abe & Tom Ikeda "The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration" Wednesday April 8 at 7 pm, Central Library" 1/
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Back from AAAS to find this Sunday print version of the Seattle Times preview for tonight's program at the Seattle Public Library, where we'll show how a reading of "The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration" prepares us to see what injustices the government is repeating today. 1/2
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Zinn Education Project @zinnedproject.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Check out the graphic novel, “We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration.” By @frankabe.bsky.social and @tamikonimura.bsky.social; illustrated by @rossish.bsky.social #TeachTruth #TeachOutsideTextbook www.zinnedproject.org/materials/we...
zinnedproject.org
We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration
Book — Non-fiction. By Frank Abe and Tamiko Nimura; illustrated by Ross Ishikawa. 2021. 160 pages. This graphic novel tells the story of Japanese American imprisonment during World War II, and the res...
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Project Salt Box @projectsaltbox.com · 26/03/2026
projectsaltbox.com
Choctaw Nation Buys Former Big Lots Warehouse, Closing Off Oklahoma ICE Detention Site
The sale is the second time in months that a large Oklahoma warehouse pursued by ICE for detention use has instead gone to another buyer.
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Topaz 2.0
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Thanks @gjabberbox.bsky.social for sharing this insightful article on the ICE concentration camps as a gift to be read in full.
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Simon Rosenberg @simonwdc.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Claw back the money FFS!
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
Thanks to Tim Dickinson at The Contrarian for this on our recent mass call from @50501movement.bsky.social with @andreapitzer.bsky.social. And thanks to Satsuki Ina for first articulating that as Japanese Americans, we know a concentration camp when we see one. www.contrariannews.org/p/is-trump-b...
contrariannews.org
Is Trump Building ‘Concentration Camps’? These Experts Have No Doubts
ICE’s immigrant mass-detention facilities fit a dark, century-old pattern
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
The U.S. creating Topaz concentration camp 2.0 in Utah.
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
OUT TODAY: "Safe Passage" by Pulitzer-prize winner Evelyn Iritani on WW2 diplomacy. My blurb: "Finally, someone has written the human story of the passengers aboard the Gripsholm and other prisoner-exchange ships and the desperate backchannel negotiations on both sides of the Pacific to rescue...1/4
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Scott Kurashige @scottkurashige.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
This reflects the racist, xenophobic mentality that put my Japanese American family members in concentration camps during WWII. Everyone should denounce it as loudly as possible and put an end to this bigotry in Congress once and for all.
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
Video cued to start of our hour-long mass call with @50501movement.bsky.social on stopping the leasing of warehouses for 21st century American concentration camps. youtu.be/IyszCsiUq2U?...
youtu.be
March 5 Mass Call - Fighting and Winning Against Trump's Concentration Camps
YouTube video by FiftyFiftyOneMovement
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Kimberly @kimberly.cryptoanarchy.network · 06/03/2026
If you missed this, it was really great and you can watch it on YouTube! youtu.be/IyszCsiUq2U.
youtu.be
March 5 Mass Call - Fighting and Winning Against Trump's Concentration Camps
YouTube video by FiftyFiftyOneMovement
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Project Salt Box @projectsaltbox.com · 06/03/2026
ICYMI: Spoke last night on public data for good, alongside @frankabe.bsky.social, @andreapitzer.bsky.social, @tifotter.bsky.social, @sussexvb.bsky.social, and more. Video below.
youtube.com
March 5 Mass Call - Fighting and Winning Against Trump's Concentration Camps
YouTube video by FiftyFiftyOneMovement
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TJ Otter @tifotter.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
It was an honor to join Frank, Andrea and Sarah to talk about where we are, how we got here, and what we need to do now. Thanks for having me to talk about Salt Lake City’s efforts to stop a mega ICE detention camp. 👏✊🏽
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Andrea Pitzer @andreapitzer.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Just got off a mass call hosted by @50501movement.bsky.social that included @frankabe.bsky.social, @projectsaltbox.bsky.social, @sussexvb.bsky.social, @tifotter.bsky.social, me, & others. So incredible to hear from speakers unearthing plans and finding ways to fight concentration camps nationwide.
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Still time to sign up for tomorrow's @50501movement.bsky.social mass call on how you can stop 21st century American concentration camps in your hometown. Warehouses being leased as immigration detention sites. Hear from local activists and author @andreapitzer.bsky.social. bit.ly/march5masscall
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Frank Abe @frankabe.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
Join me and the people who bring you the “No Kings” march for this webinar on stopping 21st century American concentration camps. I’m honored to help introduce Andrea Pitzer, author of “One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps.” RSVP here for this March 5 mass call.
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50501: The People’s Movement ❌👑 @50501movement.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
NO KINGS March 28!! ❌👑 This will be the largest non-violent protest in American history. Spread the word online and IRL, it’s up to all of us. FIND a No Kings protest: bit.ly/nokings328 ***Events are still being registered. Please check back next week if you don’t see one near you yet.***
Graphic shows a populated event map and text that reads: NO KINGS
MARCH 28, 2026

EVENTS MAP NOW LIVE 

FIND an event: bit.ly/nokings328
HOST an event: bit.ly/nokingshosts
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