Saturday, May 16, 2026 at 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM
18th Street Arts Center, Santa Monica
FROM JA to Shohei: Baseball and the Japanese American Experience Saturday, May 16th l 11AM - 3PM **Video Screening & Panel Discussion** 18th Street Arts Center 1639 18th Street. Santa Monica, CA 90404 **Free + Open to the Public** Screening of *Baseball Behind Barbed Wire,* **Yuriko Gamo Romer**'s outstanding documentary short, plus a lively panel discussion with author, historian, professor **Susan H. Kamei;** author, filmmaker, Nisei Baseball Research Project founder **Kerry Yo Nakagawa**; Southern California NAU Baseball League President **Bobby Umemoto**, and Manzanar Baseball Project Director **Dan Kwong**. *Bios:* Panelist **Susan H. Kamei** is an author *(When Can We Go Back to America?)*, historian, and university professor who is recognized as one of America’s most prominent scholars on Japanese American incarceration. She has appeared on numerous national and international news broadcasts, and her articles have been published in syndication across the country. She is recipient of a USC Phi Kappa Phi Faculty Recognition Award, a USC University Club Faculty Recognition Award, and the 2022 USC Dornsife Communicator of the Year Award for the Humanities. During WWII her family members were incarcerated in Heart Mountain, WY. and Poston, AZ. *susan.kamei@gmail.com* Panelist** Kerry Yo Nakagawa** is founder of the Nisei Baseball Research Project and curator of *Diamonds in the Rough,* an exhibit displayed by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in Tokyo and at MLB All-Star Games in Los Angeles, Seattle, Arlington, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Chicago. He is author of *Through a Diamond: 100 Years of Japanese American Baseball; A History of Japanese American Baseball in California; Kenichi Zenimura, Japanese American Baseball Pioneer.* His family members were incarcerated at the Jerome and Rohwer camps in Arkansas. *nbrp@comcast.net* Panelist** Bobby Umemoto** began his tenure with the Li'l Tokio Giants baseball team in 1960 as a ten year-old, serving as batboy. His father Mas Umemoto was a supporting figure in the early years of developing the Nisei Athletic Union (NAU) after WWII. Bobby went on to play many seasons for the Li'l Tokio Giants and eventually took over leadership as team manager in the 1990s. He has been President of the Southern California NAU Baseball Leagues for over three decades, and continues to play a key role in sustaining Japanese American baseball in Southern California. His parents were incarcerated in Heart Mountain. *bobbyu16@aol.com* Moderator/Panelist **Dan Kwong **is an award-winning performance artist and playwright/director/documentary producer/community activist. He is Associate Artistic Director of multicultural performing arts organization Great Leap, Mentor Resident Artist at 18th Street Arts Center, and graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is director of the Manzanar Baseball Project and has led the restoration of Manzanar's baseball field since 2023. He has been playing for the Li’l Tokio Giants since 1971. His mother’s family was incarcerated in Manzanar. *dkbb12@aol.com* Filmmaker **Yuriko Gamo Romer** *(Baseball Behind Barbed Wire)* is an award-winning documentarian based in San Francisco. Recently she completed production on her latest film, *Diamond Diplomacy.* She also directed and produced *Mrs. Judo: Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful,* about Keiko Fukuda, the first woman to attain a 10th degree black belt. *Mrs. Judo* premiered in 2012, was broadcast nationally on PBS and screened at over 25 film festivals internationally. Yuriko holds a Masters Degree in documentary filmmaking from Stanford University. *ygr@flyingcarp.net* **This program is presented by 18th Street Arts Center with a generous CAC Impact Grant, as part of the Manzanar Baseball Project directed by Dan Kwong and produced by Great Leap.**