My sister, Leigh Saito, helped to design a special trucker jacket for Levi’s in collaboration artist, Bria Cheng. She was able to print phrases from my people’s inauguration blessing on the jacket. More about the Levi’s initiative, honoring AAPI heritage month, here.

From Leigh: “My jacket honors our Asian American family and history. The Manzanita tree on the back represents the growth and strong roots that my family has grown despite all the struggles they faced. It also represents the ten incarceration camps the Japanese Americans were forced into, places like Gila River (where my grandparents were imprisoned), Tule Lake and Manzanar, a camp whose name is closely connected to the manzanita. The two hands represent the solidarity amongst people of color, and the grapes are an homage to our grandparents, who worked in the fields in the Central Valley. The phrases are excerpts from poems written by my sister, Brynn Saito. And the poem by the hands is an excerpt from a poem she wrote for The People’s Inauguration, a movement inspiring collective action. There’s also a secret message written on the inside of the jacket, an excerpt from her book, The Palace of Contemplating Departure.”