We Are Not Strangers is a historical fiction graphic novel written and illustrated by Josh Tuininga. Inspired by a true story, the book follows a Jewish immigrant’s efforts to help his Japanese neighbors while they are incarcerated during World War II. We Are Not Strangers converges two perspectives into a single portrait of a community’s struggle with race, responsibility, and what it truly means to be an American.

Join us for a discussion between the book’s author and illustrator, Josh Tuininga; writer and speaker Toby Asai Loftus; and Ellen Eisenberg, a consulting scholar for the graphic novel and preeminent historian on Jews in the Pacific West. We Are Not Strangers is available for purchase in the OJMCHE museum shop.

This program is co-presented by the Japanese American Museum of Oregon in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.