2010 - 2014 Events
A Taste of Wine, A Sip of Water:
Water and wine history in Silicon Valley since 1914
October 18, 2014
Taste of History 2014, featuring wine tasting by local wineries.
Screening of Documentary Film
Dalip Singh Saund: His Life, His Legacy
April 29, 2014
See a new film on the life of Dalip Singh Saund who rose above prejudice and racism to serve as the first Asian and first Sikh elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1957. Saund overcame intense discrimination Sikhs faced in California going back to late 1880s when they first arrived at Angel Island. The film was made in association with the U.S. Capital Historical Society and the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies. The producer of the film will be present to answer questions.
Poet Laureate of California, Juan Felipe Herrera, at CHC
April 24, 2014
Meet Juan Felipe Herrera, Poet Laureate of California, and enjoy an informal reception at CHC in his honor. Named Poet Laureate of California in 2012, Herrera is a multiple award winning poet, performance artist and dedicated activist on behalf of youth, migrant, and indigenous communities. His numerous poetry collections include 187 Reasons Mexicanos Can’t Cross the Border, Undocuments 1971- 2007, and Half of the World in Light: New and Selected Poems. He has taught at De Anza College, served as chair of the Chicano and Latin American Studies Department at CSU Fresno, and currently is the Tomas Rivera Endowed Chair of Creative Writing at UC Riverside.
Mapping the Challenge of a New Era with Richard Walker, Professor of Geography, Emeritus, UC Berkeley
April 23, 2014
Campus Center, Conference Room B, De Anza College
Join us to hear Dr. Richard Walker illuminate and untangle the web of data behind California's current economic, demographic, and physical transformations. He will introduce his latest publication The Atlas of California: Mapping the Challenge of a New Era, written with Suresh K. Lodha, Ph.D. (University of California Press, 2013). A leader of the California Studies movement, Professor Walker focuses his research on economic geography, environment, regional and urban development, capitalism and politics, and class and race.
Reception to Celebrate the CHC Civil Liberties Initiative
February 19, 2014
Margaret Butcher, and the memory of Audrey Butcher, were honored at a reception in the California History Center from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
The event featured remarks from U.S. Rep. Mike Honda (17th Congressional District) who as a small child was detained with his family in an internment camp. Music was provided by Emmy-winning composer Mark Izu. The event also included exhibits from the CHC library and archives and a student project from the Euphrat Museum of Art on human and civil rights.
The reception followed De Anza College's annual Day of Remembrance event marking the internment, which was held in Campus Center Conference Rooms A&B from 1:30-3 p.m.
Annual Day of Remembrance
February 19, 2014
Race Prejudice, War Hysteria, and the Failure of Political Leadership: The World War II Internment of Japanese Americans and its relevance to the defense of civil liberties today.
The California History Center invites you to participate in the twelfth annual De Anza College Day of Remembrance. Join with Japanese American communities throughout the country who annually commemorate the date, February 19, 1942, during World War II on which an executive order was signed that led to the imprisonment of over 120,000 Japanese Americans without due process and with no regard for their constitutional rights. The community now uses this date to encourage active participation in defending the basic civil liberties of all Americans.
Date: Wednesday, February 19
Time: 1:30 to 3 p.m.
Location: Hinson Campus Center, Conference Rooms A&B
Featured Speakers:
- Poet, Editor, Brian Komei Dempster – Brian is a USF professor and has helped former internees write about their experiences in the camps. His publications include, From Our Side of the Fence: Growing up in America's Concentration Camps and has a collection, recently published, of his own poetry about the internment experience entitled Topaz. He will be accompanied by two former internees and authors.
- Authors, Elaine Elinson and Stan Yogi – Elaine and Stan co-authored, Wherever There’s a Fight: How Runaway Slaves, Suffragists, Immigrants, Strikers, and Poets Shaped Civil Liberties in California. Both are former staff members of the ACLU of Northern California as well as accomplished writers and editors.
- Samina Faheem – Samina represents the organization American Muslim Voice in the San José area that promotes deeper understanding of the Muslim American experience through open dialogue and discussion.
Sponsors: California History Center. Funding provided by the DASB.
Book Talk: All Roads Lead to Jackson
January 17, 2014
Friday, January 17, 2014, 3:00 - 5:00 PM
California History Center, De Anza College
21250 Stevens Creek Blvd, Cupertino, CA 95014.
All Roads Lead to Jackson: Serbian American Contributions in Amador County, CA since the Gold Rush, is a new book https://sebastianpress.org/all-roads-lead-to-jackson/.
Author Milina Jovanović offers a unique compilation of individual and family immigration stories that describe enormous contributions to the development of California and significant community involvement In this version of people's history Jovanović chronicles how Serbian Americans have strengthened community, region, state, and country through the endeavors and struggles of 150 years.
This book also focuses on women's contributions that are too often overlooked. Ms. Jovanović's study reveals that Jackson not only remains an original and symbolic home to Serbian Americans and Serbian Orthodox religion, but also an oasis where the Serbian community has preserved its positive reputation and social influence.
Praise for the Book:
Here we can see how Serbian-Americans helped lead the way in the development of a viable and valuable society in California from Gold Rush days to modern times.
- Michael Pareirti, author of The Face of Imperialism, To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia and many other books
Social scientist Milina Jovanović passionately and thoroughly documents - using statistical analysis and oral history - the ways the Serbian community of long-standing in the historic mining town of Jackson, California, has met extraordinary challenges to success in the adopted land.
- Lisa Christiansen, Librarian/Archivist at the California History Center, De Anza College
Every ethnic group in America deserves as fine a study as this about its contributions to the United States, but none more so than Serbian-Americans, whose achievements until this book have remained largely in the shadow of obscurity and discrimination resulting from a one-sided view of the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
- Joe Lauria, journalist and author of Political Odyssey
Here is the beautifully told account of an immigrant community that reaches back to the Gold Rush days.
-Greg Elich, Balkan expert, author of Strange Liberators
Milina Jovanović's "All Roads Lead to Jackson" explores Serbian American contributions to the making of the United States, in general, and California, specifically.
- George Wright, Professor Emeritus, Skyline College, author of The Distraction of a Nation
"All Roads Lead to Jackson" is simply the best account of the rich and distinct Serbian American contributions to the social and cultural life of Amador County.
- Andrej Grubacic, Associate Professor, CHS, author of Don't Mourn, Balkanize!
Taste of History: Past and Present Cupertino Mayors
October 26, 2013
The California History Center at De Anza College hosted the third annual Taste of History event on Saturday, Oct. 26, honoring former Cupertino mayors from 1955 to present day.
Guests included various men and women who have committed their time and services to building the city of Cupertino and De Anza College over the past few decades.
The event served as a fundraiser for local history projects and was organized by Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities Carolyn Wilkins-Greene and California History Center director Tom Izu.
Former Mayor James E. Jackson, who served two terms from 1975-’76 and ’78-’79, spoke about various obstacles and triumphs he and his team accomplished, including opening Vallco Mall.
Another speaker was Michael Chang, who served two terms as mayor in 1997 and 2002, and is now a professor at De Anza teaching Asian American studies and intercultural communications.
He spoke about the changes over the years as De Anza became more of an international community college.
“What has changed is that Cupertino and the Silicon Valley has become globalized,” Chang said. “We are part of this large interconnected world because of the high tech products being produced in the city.”
The current mayor, Orrin Mahoney, gave a presentation at the Media and Learning Center about the history of the city and all the mayors’ contributions to the city.
Supreet Singh, La Voz Staff Writer
Exhibit: Lens on Silicon Valley
March 23, 2013
Lens on Silicon Valley, a photographic exhibition by Los Gatos/Saratoga Camera Club at Le Petit Trianon, DeAnza College. On View March 12 through June 20, 2013.
Annual Day of Remembrance
February 26, 2013
DeAnza College's 11th Annual Day of Remembrance.
Race Prejudice, War Hysteria, and the Failure of Political Leadership: The World War II Internment of Japanese Americans and its relevance to the defense of civil liberties today.
Join three generations of Japanese Americans in a discussion on the impact of the World War II internment on their lives and community, and what it means for all Americans, especially now in a time of heightened fear and conflict.
Date: Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Time: 1:30 to 3:00 p.m.
Location: Campus Center, Conf. Room B
Featured Speakers
- Amy Imai, former internee, Heart Mountain Internment Camp
- Susan Hayase, former Vice Chair, Civil Liberties and Public Education Fund Board
- Robert Ehara, De Anza student representing the Asian Pacific American Students for Leadership Club
Also Featuring
- Dr. Alice Yang, Provost, Stevenson College and Associate Professor of History, University of California, Santa Cruz
- Dr. Yang’s specialties include historical memory, World War II, Asian American history, race, gender, and oral history. Her publications include, "Historical Memories of the Japanese American Internment and the Struggle for Redress" (2007) and "What Did the Internment of Japanese Americans Mean?" (2000). She is currently researching transnational memories of World War II in the Pacific.
Sponsors: California History Center. Funding provided by the DASB.
Accessibility: The event is wheelchair accessible. Sign language interpreter or other accommodations available upon request 5 business days prior to event.
Annual Day of Remembrance
February 19, 2012
DeAnza College's 9th Annual Day of Remembrance.
Join with Japanese American communities throughout the country who annually commemorate the date of February 19, 1942. This is the date when an executive order was signed during World War II that led to the imprisonment of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans without due process and with no regard for their constitutional rights.
The community now uses this date to encourage active participation in defending the basic civil liberties of all Americans. February 19, 2012 will mark the 70th year anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066.
What can the World War II imprisonment of Japanese Americans teach us about defending our civil liberties today?
Date: Thursday, February 16, 2012
Time: 1:30 to 3:00 p.m.
Location: Hinson Campus Center, Conference Rooms A & B
Featured Speakers:
- Zahra Billoo (pictured), Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, community advocate and attorney
- Masao Suzuki, Professor of Economics, Skyline College, member, South Bay Committee Against Political Repression and member, San Jose Nihonmachi Outreach Committee
- Susan Hayase, former Vice Chair, Civil Liberties Public Education Fund, and Chair of the first National Day of Remembrance held in Washington D.C., 1998
This year's program will focus on the increasing hostility aimed at Muslim Americans and the use of federal law enforcement agencies in spying on US citizens. Of great concern is the passing of the National Defense Authorization Act signed by President Obama on December 31, 2011 that includes authorization for the military to detain, indefinitely, without due process, US citizens as part of the “War on Terror.”
Sponsors: California History Center and the Institute of Community and Civic Engagement. Funding provided by the DASB. We strongly urge all students to support the DASB by paying the DASB card registration fee.
Accessibility: The event is wheelchair accessible. Sign language interpreter or other accommodations available upon request 5 business days prior to event.
Author Talk and Book Signing: Captive of the Labryrinth: Sarah L. Winchester, Heiress to the Rifle Fortune
December 9, 2010
Who was Sarah Winchester? Was she as guilt-ridden and superstitious as history remembers her? Local historian, author and De Anza College faculty member Mary Jo Ignoffo sets out to answer this provocative question in her new book, Captive of the Labryrinth.
Meet Author Mary Jo Ignoffo at the California History Center
Gary F. Kurutz, California State Library Curator of Special Collections, calls Ignoffo's book, "an excellent read. Ignoffo finally sets the record straight on one of the most fascinating and misunderstood women in California history. A real page-turner!"
Enjoy refreshments, hear Mary Jo Ignoffo discuss her work on Winchester, then purchase your own copy of Captive of the Labyrinth.
