Nikkei Progressives is a grassroots, all-volunteer, multi-generational community organization. Our mission is to engage and unite the Nikkei community to stand against injustice, inequality and white supremacy and to work in solidarity with others for a more just society.
Where We’re From
We formed in late 2016 partially in response to the Trump Administration’s expected attacks on the civil liberties of Muslim Americans, immigrants, and other minority groups and in recognition of the need to offer support and resistance. We care deeply about issues of justice and fairness within the Japanese American community and beyond. Current initiatives include advocating for immigration reform and support, Black reparations, electoral and political engagement, and Little Tokyo community stakeholders, as well as supporting BIPOC arts and culture.
Rooted in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo, Nikkei Progressives carries on the values and principles of earlier groups, like the Little Tokyo Peoples Rights Organization (LTPRO) that worked to preserve Little Tokyo during the City’s 1970s redevelopment and Nikkei for Civil Rights & Redress (NCRR) that led the grassroots struggle for Redress and Reparations and supported Muslim Americans following 9/11. Many of us are also members of Sustainable Little Tokyo (SLT) and work to promote community control in the face of growing gentrification.
“We want children and families separated and incarcerated in detention sites or separated by the Muslim travel ban to know that Japanese Americans are fighting for them.”
— Nikkei Progressives Organizers
What We Stand For
We support the human and civil rights of immigrants, the Black diaspora, Muslim Americans, and other groups who face marginalization and discrimination. We believe in building bridges and solidarity between people, not walls, registries and travel bans. We believe families belong together, children separated from their parents must be reunited immediately, and migrants and asylum seekers deserve safety and freedom from violence and modern-day prison camps. We believe Black Lives Matter. We believe Little Tokyo is the heart of the Southern California Japanese American community. Its 135-year history, culture, values, legacy businesses, and community institutions must be protected for future generations.
What We Do
Organize Little Tokyo vigils and rallies and contingents for protests, community aid, and large-scale advocacy
Advocate for Black reparations at the local, state, and national level with NCRR and other organizations
Support Muslim Americans through Vigilant Love Iftars (Break the Fast dinners), speaking out against profiling Muslim Americans as terrorists and opposing the anti-Muslim travel ban
Co-founded the #NeverAgainIsNow Nationwide Call to Action to mobilize the Japanese American community to oppose Trump’s Zero Tolerance policies and help immigrants and refugees suffering in detention centers and facing family separation and deportation.
Raise awareness and collect petition signatures for community control of Little Tokyo’s First Street North site
Support annual API Student Activist Training (SAT)
Conduct ongoing NP member education on topics such as: Immigration, LGBTQIA+ issues, reparations, and senior citizens’ rights.
