Gary Y. Okihiro and Asian American Studies

figure in the field of Asian American studies, passed away on May 20, 2024.It would not be hyperbolic to say that every one of us in the field knew Gary in some capacity-as an author, teacher, mentor, colleague, and friend.He was a senior colleague who seemed to be everywhere.It was hard to keep up with his prodigious list of publications.How in the world did he manage to publish so many books, well into his seventies?His wide smile, distinctive laughter, Hawaiian shirts (in the old days), and New York black suits (since the makeover) were reliably present at our annual conferences.To many of us in our relatively young field, born out of revolutionary dreams for new ways to produce collective knowledge, Gary was our beacon, our anchor.His imprint is all over our field.And then, all of a sudden, he left us.Born in 1945 and raised on a sugar plantation in Hawai'i, where his Japanese and Okinawan ancestors had worked, Gary used his humble background to guide his scholarship.When an undergraduate mentor told him that he would never be allowed to pastor a white church, he decided to shift his studies from theology to history.(On

Asian americans · Ethnic group · Sociology · Anthropology · Asian American and Pacific Histories · History

• Third World Studies

  Gary Y Okihiro•Third World Studies•2024

  Add to list

• Cane Fires

  Dan Boylan, Gary Y Okihiro•Western Historical Quarterly•1992

  Add to list