Taking “100 Years From Mississippi” to Japan: a journey of sharing and family to better both our worlds.

At Kyoto’s Doshisha University, Tarabu’s first presentation of “100 Years From Mississippi” was in a beautiful theater with close to two hundred students, faculty and community members in attendance. In Tokyo at Kyoritsu Women’s University, it was in a large classroom with American and African American Studies professors, scholars, researchers and journalists. These folks are trying to present a more realistic view of the African American struggle to students and the public. But also I think they are trying to apply it to Japan’s own struggle to become a more pluralistic, equitable society.

The film stimulated penetrating questions in both audiences: How do I teach this to young people not interested? How to you present this devastating history without re-traumatizing an audience? How do we confront the mass of misinformation.

We also learned that some of these Japanese scholars have become ardent activists, especially during the 2020 Black Lives Matter demonstrations that permeated the world stage. They publicly pushed the media to go beyond “these Black people are poor and so they are rioting,” to framing BLM as a form of resistance to systemic White Supremacy.

Tarabu’s film about his mom’s journey as a lynching survivor, emerging as a dignified, powerful and joyful woman, is a poignant, and hopeful way to present a tough subject. And having members of our mixed family with us – the Miyamoto’s and especially Tarabu’s sister, Beatrice Kirkland and niece, Neota Jones added the dimension of community and family to the gatherings. More to come!