Author: Angela E. Oh Paperback: Paperback ISBN-10: 0-934052-00-X ISBN-13: 9-780934-052009 Product Details: 135 pgs, 6.5 x 7 in Categories: Activism; Asian American; Asian American Movement; Autobiography/Biography/Memoir; Korean; Race Relations; Women's Studies

 

Description:

This book is a collection of essays and reflections of Angela E. Oh, who is an attorney, political activist, lecturer, and a Zen Buddhist priest, in the Rinzai sect.

 

From the author:
My perspective is a product of who I am - a second generation Korean woman, and first generation new American, born and raised in Los Angeles at the historical moment when Civil Rights, Women's Rights, and the Free Speech Movement were emerging in the collective consciousness of a nation.

 

Gender, class, history, and culture have required me to forge a different path than others. Walking that path has given rise to these writings.

 

What has been the greatest gift in my life is openness. In this, I have found both pleasure and pain, inspiration and disappointment, laughter and tears. In short, I have found a way to grow. I recognize the gift of being blessed. I offer my essays as a gift to you.

 

Excerpt:

I AM NOT A WRITER. These words may or may not accomplish what I have tried to express. Trying to capture in essays what I would normally put into a conversation has been a challenge. Nonetheless, it is my hope to share my experiences, ideas, and suggestions for action in order to bridge some of the divisions that exist among us.

 

We do not know each other's stories. I am convinced that one of the ways for people of conscience to move toward common ground is to share out stories.

 

This collection off essays was created to commemorate the tenth-year anniversary of the Los Angeles riots. The writings here include pieces that cover my experiences working in the Korean American community, subjects of my public lectures, and stories about inspiring people I have met over the past ten years. It is hard to believe that a decade has passed since the implosion of Los Angeles in 1992. Since then, I have had to chance to reflect more deeply on what the riots signaled, not just for Korean Americans, but for this society as a whole.

 

(From the "Preface")

 

Table of Contents

 

• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• Times to Remember, Even as We Try to Forget
• I'll Kill You, I'll Kill Myself
• A Blessing and a Curse
• Pbali-Pbali People
• Yujah/Woman
• Detours
• Judges and Judging
• The Korean Jewess (aka The Oriental Beauty)
• Seeing Each Other
• Multi-Racial Reality
• Nate & Sue
• A Stranger at the Gate (of Race)
• 9/11
• Would You Like to Add Anything?
• Body, Spirit, Practice

 

Links:

Sam Chu Lin (2003). "Angela Oh Captures Her Journey in New Book" from AsianWeek http://www.asianweek.com/2003_01_10/feature_angela.html

 

Related Center Press Publications:

Amerasia Journal 19:2 Los Angeles - Struggles Toward Multiethnic Community (1993).
Amerasia Journal 29:3 What Does It Mean to Be Korean Today? Part I. Across Nations, Generations, & Identities (2003/2004).
Amerasia Journal 30:1 What Does It Mean to Be Korean Today? Part II. Community in the 21st Century (2004).
Amerasia Journal 38:1 Los Angeles Since 1992: Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Uprising (2012).
Leong, Russell & Nakanishi, Don T. (Eds.) (2002). Asian Americans on War & Peace.