APAs in Fairfax County, Virginia Strive to Tell Their Stories
The APA community is the largest minority group in the county but their history has yet to be documented. A new history project looks to change that.
Fairfax County, Virginia may not have its own Japantown, but look no further than the local Ekoji Buddhist Temple on Lake Haven Lane to learn about the area's Japanese American history.
Ken Nakamura, 62, had just moved to Fairfax County in 1975 when he and six other Buddhist families saw a pressing need to start a Dharma school. In 1979 the school was founded and with the help of the Buddhist Churches of America, the Ekoji Buddhist Temple was built a few years later.
Today, the temple is home not only to Buddhist church services but to tai chi classes and the opportunity to join the church's taiko group, Nen Daiko. It is still the only Jodo Shinshu Buddhist church in the Washington, D.C. area.
"The interesting thing about our temple is it's about 60:40, 60 percent are non-JA, 40 percent are JA," said Ken, a church trustee. "We are a growing church, but the growth is amongst the non-JA members."
The Ekoji Buddhist Temple is part of a budding narrative on the history of the Asian Pacific American community in Fairfax County, the largest minority group in the county. Although many local histories have been written on other minority groups in the area, no documented historical account exists for the APA community.
Cora Foley, director of the Filipino American Historical Society of Northern Virginia, is spearheading an effort to change that. She, along with several APA community leaders and activists, is leading the Fairfax County Asian American History Project, a project that will capture the stories of APAs who have made Fairfax County their home.
"Almost half of the Asian Americans in Virginia live in Fairfax County. It's really amazing, it's just that it hasn't been written up. That's why I was interested in doing this project." said Cora.
Braddock District Supervisor Sharon Bulova has thrown her support behind the project and organizers have already held three well attended informational meetings. Through oral histories and various projects the group hopes to eventually produce a book, video and Web site. Their target date for publication of a book is May 2010, just in time for APA Heritage Month.
'A Great Place to Raise a Family'
Cora, 57, was born in the Philippines and moved to Virginia in 1970. For the past 27 years she and her family have called Fairfax County home.
Like many APAs in the county, Cora worked for a number of years in the government sector and recently retired from the U.S. State Department. With the heart of Washington, D.C. only about 18 miles from Fairfax County, the short commute is an attractive option for many.
But its close proximity to the nation's capital may follow behind two other reasons often cited for why Fairfax County has become an ideal locale for APAs: top rated schools and the beauty of its parks.
"Fairfax County has the best educational system in the whole nation. That was the best magnet for my family," said Cora, who has a son and daughter. "It's a very safe place, a great place to raise a family."
The JA and Filipino American communities have deep roots in Fairfax County but their numbers are relatively small compared to the more recent immigrant communities like the Korean Americans and Vietnamese Americans. Fairfax County has its own Koreatown and Eden Center is the largest Vietnamese American commercial center on the East Coast.
The growing influence of the county's APA population can be seen in the exercising of its political clout. Ilryong Moon, a Korean American, is the first and only APA elected official. He currently sits on the Fairfax County School Board.
In the 2000 Census, Fairfax County was among the top 25 Counties in the U.S. with the largest proportion of AA residents. In 2006 there were almost 160,000 AAs in Fairfax County, 16 percent of the total population.
Keith McAllister, a 39-year-old Vietnamese American, was born in Saigon but has lived in Fairfax County for the past 31 years. He's a product of the local school system.
"I went to high school where at least maybe over 30 languages were spoken, and that was back in the mid-80s," said Keith who currently works in tech management at an environmental firm in D.C. "Growing up in a school system you can meet kids from around the world. Here you can experience a lot of different cultures."
'We've Been Here a Long Time'
Rose Chu, 52, was born in Taiwan and as a toddler moved to D.C. with her diplomat father and mother. Although raised in nearby Montgomery County, Maryland, she has called Fairfax County home since 1984.
"When I first heard about [the Fairfax County Asian American History Project], I thought it was a great idea," said Rose, a health policy advisor who is currently helping with the project. "I'm glad a history will finally be written."
The Nakamura family goes back two generations in Fairfax County. Shortly after Ken moved to the area his son Greg, 31 and daughter Maya, 30 were born. Both continue to reside in the area.
"To document our history is important to pass onto future generations," said Greg, a Fairfax County elementary school teacher. "At some point, future generations may be curious as to how our community was formed. It will be useful to pass it on."
Ken's mother Ellen knew the importance of documenting the community's history. Shortly after Ellen and her husband Kiyomi relocated from the Rohwer interment camp to work at a Seabrook frozen food plant along with many other JAs, she helped found the Seabrook Educational and Cultural Center. Today, it is a place where one can learn about the integral role JAs played in the local area's history.
The Seabrook museum "adds to the knowledge of the area, of why JAs got to be there. It's the same thing Cora is doing," said Ken. "It helps to point out Asian Americans were very much a part of the history of Fairfax, of how it developed. That we are here and we have been here for a long time."
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