A Rebel’s Outcry: Biography of Issei Civil Rights Leader Sei Fujii (1882-1954) is an illustrated biography and detailed look into the life of Japanese American civil rights leader Sei Fujii, known for overturning the California Alien Land Law in 1952 and founding the Japanese American newspaper Kashu Mainichi (California Daily News). His complex history reveals his intriguing journey as an immigrant, a social justice activist, unionizer, and a community leader. Fujii’s story exemplifies the multitude of ways Americans have and may continue to fight for our civil rights.

The official biography on Sei Fujii is the source material written by author Kenichi Sato and was commissioned by manager Junko Maruya of the Kashu Mainichi. Following the work by Sato, LTHS conducted over ten years of extensive research, including interviews with countless community members, Fujii’s family, and visiting his ancestral samurai home in the Takamori Village of Iwakuni, Japan. Publication of this book is sponsored by MUFG Union Bank, UCLA Asian American Studies Center, and the George and Sakaye Aratani Community Advancement Research Endowment.

Jeffrey directs narratives on early immigrant communities in the United States. He is best known for his award-winning dramatic short LIL TOKYO REPORTER, which received over 21 film awards and screened internationally at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Beijing, and Tokyo. He was mentored by late Director John Singleton. Jeffrey also has been featured on Good Morning America and at the Walt Disney Family Museum, edited an Emmy-Nominated SFGovTV Programs, VFX Supervised Student Academy Award Finalist Drone. He directed heist film in India “Mosagallu” starring actors Suniel Shetty and Kajal Aggarawal, and also published his first book A REBEL’S OUTCRY which already won two gold medal awards.

Veteran actor Chris Tashima has played generational Japanese American roles in award winning indie films like Model Minority, Under the Blood Red Sun, and Go For Broke. You can see him next in No No Girl, from Yonsei writer/director Paul Goodman (opens theatrically Sept. 2022). Chris is most recognized as the Oscar® winning director of Visas and Virtue, a short film he also stars in as Holocaust rescuer Chiune Sugihara.

Keiko Agena is best known for her series regular roles on the shows Prodigal Son where she played Dr. Edrisa Tanaka and Gilmore Girls, where she played Lane Kim for seven years and reprised the role in Netflix’s Gilmore Girls: Seasons. As an improviser she’s performed at UCB Sunset/NY, IO WEST and is a recent addition to the main company of IMPRO THEATRE. In between Agena has been a series regular on Hulu’s The First and recurring on Better Call Saul, Dirty John and 13 Reasons Why. As a guest star she has appeared on such shows as Shameless, Scandal and NCIS Los Angeles to name a few. Keiko has recently published an Artist Workbook titled No Mistakes through Penguin/Random house which is available wherever books are sold.