Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. Aren’t We American? Race, Class, Immigration, and Citizenship

I went to the LA Times Festival of Books (April 13-14). I'm posting my notes on the various panel discussions I attended.

The seventh panel discussion I attended was "Aren’t We American? Race, Class, Immigration, and Citizenship."

Here is an edited panelist biography via the LA Times website.

An ordained Buddhist priest in the Soto Zen tradition, Duncan Ryuken Williams has spent years piecing together the story of the Japanese American community during World War II. He has published five other books, including The Other Side of Zen.

Sam Erman is an Assistant Professor of Law at the USC Gould School of Law. He came to USC from the Smithsonian Institution, where he was a postdoctoral fellow in Latino studies. Erman's primary areas of research include the history of Puerto Rico and its relations with the United States.

Juan De Lara is an Assistant Professor in American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. His newest book, "Inland Shift: Race, Space, and Capital in Inland Southern California" was published last year.

Elda María Román is an Assistant Professor in the English Department at the University of Southern California. She is the author of "Race and Upward Mobility" and has published articles on Latinx and African American cultural production.