​We are pleased to announce a seminar “What Happened” with Mr. Gordon Smith and Mr. Michael M Sera with Japanese American Museum of San Jose.

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Program Description:

Did you know that there are only three remaining Japantowns in the USA.   Did you know that more than 75 years ago, the US had Internment Camps in 10 different locations?  If you are curious and would like to learn more, then please join us for a presentation followed by Q&A with our guest speaker/panelist from the Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj.com).

 

Date: 9/4/2020 Friday

 

Time:

5:00pm - 6:00pm : 1st session: Lecture

6:00pm - 7:00pm : 2nd session: Q&A Discussion

 

Instructor/Panelist:

Gordon Smith  Board Vice President/Head Docent of Japanese American Museum of San Jose Michael M. Sera  Board President of Japanese American Museum of San Jose

 

Language: English and Japanese

Venue: Zoom Webinar and Youtube Live

Admission: Free

 

Registration:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_D8YuiWxZSUSnM0N9Uly22Q

 

Gordon Smith, Board Vice President/Head Docent As Head Docent of the museum, Gordon is pleased to make presentations on the history found and explained at JAMsj which he has gained from the experience of giving numerous groups, including hundreds of visitors, tours of the museum which brought its history alive for them. Gordon developed his presentation skills through his career, before volunteering at JAMsj, during which he developed training and professional presentations on various Public Health and Safety topics to audiences large and small. His interest in Japanese American history stems both from his Japanese ancestry on his mother’s side and one of his wife’s grandfathers having been one of the relatively few Japanese from Hawaii who were interned.

 

Michael M Sera, Board President

Michael Sera was Born and raised in San Francisco, CA by an Issei (First Generation Japanese) Mother and Father who raised him Japanese at home.  American educated, he was able to assimilate to both cultures and languages from an early age.  He has been in the semiconductor and electronics industry for over 30 years and now has his own consulting company where he helps bridge the technology and culture gap between Japan and North America.  He became involved with JAMsj in the summer of 2010 by helping with the construction of the Exhibit area.  He later became one of a few bilingual docents, helping the Japanese Nationals understand the history of the Japanese Americans.  Michael joined the JAMsj Board in May of 2011, then managed public programs before becoming Board President in October of 2017.  His attraction to JAMsj was the opportunity to give back to the local community while learning more about the Japanese American experience.  “I’ve learned more from the internees who visit JAMsj then I will ever read about” says Michael.