Not Yo' Butterfly

I was present and participated in the 1973 recording of A Grain of Sand. While it was an album about the struggle of Asians in America, it also contributed to the second half of the twentieth-century Black liberation movement, and the songs became the childhood lullabies of my son Tupac. Nobuko reminds me of the foundation of my being. She reminds me that culture is a political weapon, a liberation force for the spirit.—Dr. Mutulu Shakur With the thousands of existing books on white history and culture, Not Yo' Butterfly by Nobuko Miyamoto is a much needed, must-read book on Asian Pacific Americans and how we too have sung America. In her life, Nobuko has lived and experienced a wide-breadth of history: World War II incarceration and its aftermath; art—dancing and singing with American icons; and culture—being mixed herself and mixing it up more with her son and husband. And in each area—in history, art, and culture—she has been a leader of the best kind—unintentional—trailblazing pathways for generations whose own efforts would be rockier without her.—Karen L. Ishizuka, Chief Curator of the Japanese American National Museum and author of Serve the People: Making Asian America in the Long Sixties From a childhood thrown into turmoil by the wartime incarceration of her family, to dancing on Broadway, to pioneering Asian American music, to years spent in the pursuit of social and racial justice, Nobuko Miyamoto has lived a dozen lifetimes, all of them inspiring.—Oliver Wang, Professor of Sociology, California State University, Long Beach A most vivid and compelling storyteller, Nobuko Miyamoto gives us a memoir that is a beautiful and astounding testimony of social justice, hope, and resilience! A monumental contribution to the history of Asian American artists and their creative and political contributions to this country.—Martha Gonzalez, author of Chican@ Artivistas: Music, Community, and Transborder Tactics in East Los Angeles Miyamoto is a master storyteller. The pages of her memoir are soaked with honesty and vivid recollection. This powerful, well-written story is also a tale of the struggles and triumphs within family, as well as personal self-discovery and transformation. The awakening of consciousness, the dance, the song, the social struggles, and the spirituality are all sculpted here into an amazing life. Celebrated teacher, beloved artist, dedicated activist, wife, and mother, Nobuko Miyamoto is definitely 'Not Yo’ Butterfly.'—Kamau Daáood, poet, cofounder of The World Stage Performance Gallery in Los Angeles Nobuko's 'longest song' rises from the cultural chasms of America to have us reckon with the undeniable interconnectedness of all relations and the hard-earned journey of realizing oneself through each other. This astounding collection of moments, lyrics, and memories is a beautiful memoir and celebration of radical inclusion on the path to finding one's song.—traci kato-kiriyama, interdisciplinary performing artist and principal writer of PULLproject Ensemble’s TALES OF CLAMOR