Skip to Content

Reparations

Directed by Jon Osaki
  • 2021
  • 30 mins

“Reparations” explores the four-century struggle to seek repair and atonement for slavery in the United States. Black and Asian Americans reflect on the legacy of slavery, the inequities that persists, and the critical role that solidarity between communities has in acknowledging and addressing systemic racism in America.

 

About the Director:

Jon Osaki is an award-winning filmmaker who has directed and produced promotional, educational, narrative and documentary films. His initial interest in film grew from his desire to share the stories of the Japanese Community Youth Council, where he has served as executive director since 1996. Over the past few years, he has had films screened at film festivals and community event across the country. As a filmmaker, Osaki views this genre as the next step in his lifelong pursuit of social justice and equity. As a long-time community and youth development advocate, Osaki believes in using film to bring stories to life for younger generations. He is motivated to inspire the next generation of storytellers who can keep vital chapters of this country’s history alive and relevant to our leaders of tomorrow. His films include “Reparations,” “Alternative Facts: The Lies of Executive Order 9066,” “Not Your Model Minority” and “Yonsei Eyes.”

Preceded By

Putting Them Where They Can Do No Harm

Directed by Steve Nagano

Fletcher Bowron, former Mayor of Los Angeles, used his weekly radio show to indict Japanese people during World War II. His amazingly racist rhetoric was spewed over Los Angeles’s airwaves, fueling the incarceration of people of Japanese ancestry. Now is the time to remove his name from the square that honors him.

Plays in

“Righting Civil Wrongs” Shorts Program

From the hot-button issue of Black reparations, to the racial reckoning of America leading to the re-examination of monuments to racist icons, to the role of Japanese Americans in using our experience to safeguard the rights of others similarly targeted by racial scapegoating, the “Righting Civil Wrongs” shorts programs utilizes history to inform the present.