Aoki Center

05/21/2026

The Aoki Center for Critical Race and Nation Studies had an active year. Read our 2025-26 Aoki Center Annual Report to learn what we’ve been doing and how you can be involved: https://law.ucdavis.edu/aoki-center-annual-report-2026

Thanks to all in our community who supported communities, people in jeopardy, and the Aoki Center. We look forward to building community and raising awareness in the 2026-27 academic year.

05/21/2026

05/11/2026

King Hall Professor Jack Chin will speak on a panel at Voices of the Valley: A Community Movie Night at UC Davis, May 13, 5:30-8 p.m., 1002 Cruess Hall. Free admission; RSVP at 1882foundation.short.gy/Voices.

We often think of Chinatowns in cities like San Francisco or New York when we think about Chinese communities. But the Chinese were a key part of California's agricultural history. What can we learn about these Chinese communities in rural areas?

The panel will accompany three short Chinese American documentaries that capture these stories:

• “Chicago Cafe” follows the Fongs as they prepare to close their family's century-old restaurant in Woodland—a poignant reflection on legacy and what it means to walk away from a place that's been a fixture in the Woodland community.
• “Rising” documents multiple generations of the Wing family who preserved Hanford's China Alley, and the ramifications of a fire that destroyed its historic Taoist Temple Museum.
• “Voices — Women of the Delta” amplifies the often-overlooked stories of women from historic Locke, CA who struggled and thrived despite the hardships they faced in the 20th century.

Panelists include: Professor Jack Chin, Arianne Wing, Carol Lee, and Connie Chan Robison.

More information at https://law.ucdavis.edu/aoki-blog/professor-jack-chin-will-speak-voices-valley-community-movie-night-uc-davis-may-13.

05/11/2026

05/08/2026

Congratulations to Cesar A. Ledesma ’26 for winning the 2026 Angela Harris Prize for Critical Race Scholarship and to Ricardo Martinez ’27 for winning honorable mention. Cesar wrote “Conditional Belonging: Modern Immigration Enforcement in Public Institutions Is Leading to the ‘Social Death’ of U.S.-Citizen Children in Mixed-Status Families.” Ricardo wrote “Accountability Post Trumpism: A Constitutional Model for a Justice-First Truth Commission.” Professors Raquel Aldana and Kevin R. Johnson presented the awards at the Public Service Graduation.

05/08/2026

A heartwarming post from our Harris Prize winner. Congratulations, Cesar!

Today, I had the honor of receiving this year’s Angela Harris Prize for Critical Race Scholarship. I am especially grateful to Professor Lisa Ikemoto for submitting the paper on my behalf! Undoubtedly, the past three years of law school have been a wild rollercoaster of both successes and setbacks...

04/20/2026

The Aoki Center co-sponsored the Immigration & Nationality Law Review Volume 46 Symposium, "Community Resistance: Immigration Law in the Face of Mass Deportation & Repression" at King Hall on April 17. Pictured: Soni Chaturvedi '25, Shaina Aber, Nancy Hormachea, Anusha Entezari '27, Sara Jahangiri '27, Chloe Dillon, Professor Kevin R. Johnson, Aidin Castillo Mazantini '11, and Raha Jorjani.

04/08/2026

Professor Miroslava Chávez-García visited King Hall today to discuss “Architect of Hate: Garrett Hardin and the Rise of Eco-fascism in Modern America” as part of the Aoki Center’s Racial Justice Speaker Series.

Chávez-García is Professor of History at UC Santa Barbara, with affiliations in the Departments of Chicana/o Studies and Feminist Studies as well as Iberian and Latin American Studies. She holds a 2025-26 Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University. Pictured with Aoki Center Director Kevin R. Johnson.

Watch the video: https://mediasite.ucdavis.edu/Mediasite/Play/c3da0d32e66a49a5ae2da9c021b850561d

For upcoming Aoki Center events, visit https://law.ucdavis.edu/academics/centers/critical-race/events.

04/07/2026

The Aoki Center happily co-sponsored LaLSA’s culture week event, “Understanding Immigration Law: Authors Discuss the Fourth Edition” on April 2. King Hall Professors Raquel Aldana and Kevin R. Johnson talked about the edition they recently co-authored with Professors Bill Ong Hing, Leticia M. Saucedo, and Enid Trucios-Haynes. The book lays out the basics of U.S. immigration law in an accessible way to newcomers to the field. The Immigration Law Association also co-sponsored the event.

For upcoming Aoki Center events, visit https://law.ucdavis.edu/academics/centers/critical-race/events.

03/18/2026

Professor Amy Motlagh visited King Hall today to discuss her new book, Colorblind: Racial Thinking and Cultural Production in Modern Iran and the Diaspora. Professor Motlagh teaches Comparative Literature and Middle East/South Asia Studies at UC Davis and is the inaugural Bita Daryabari Presidential Chair in Persian Language and Literature.

Read about her book: https://www.sup.org/books/middle-east-studies/colorblind

Find upcoming Aoki Center events: https://law.ucdavis.edu/academics/centers/critical-race/events