‘I was telling your story.’ Emotive film moves new Americans, judges and celebs

When James Ishida’s family first set foot on American soil, it would have been hard to imagine anything beyond saving pennies, let alone their story bringing an overflowing federal courtroom to tears.

“By telling my family story, I was telling your story, the story of every immigrant who comes to the United States,” Ishida, a circuit executive for the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, told 26 newly-minted American citizens, voice thick with emotion. “It’s a story of sacrifice, it’s a story of hard work, it’s a story about dreams of a better future.”

Ishida and his son, Ian, stood side-by-side after a naturalization ceremony Thursday, when a video Ian Ishida produced about the family’s own journey drew rapt attention from a packed courtroom, including a full bench of federal judges and University of South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley.

Staley was there to support a friend who had recently become a citizen, she told The State.

The court kept her attendance a secret to most until her arrival, which drew out gasps from the audience and a few giggly shrieks from the Irmo Elementary children’s choir, who led an upbeat singing of “My Country ‘tis of Thee.”

“I think the court did a really good job of bringing folks together,” Ishida said. “They brought representatives from all over the community.

Even though Ian Ishida decided young he never wanted to be an attorney – he now works in IT for Maryland’s district court – he appreciated the opportunity to get a glimpse into his father’s work.

“I think his whole career he’s wanted to share this part of the work with me, and now I kind of understand,” Ian Ishida said. “It’s half-cool because we get to share our story, half-cool because we get to share it with the new citizens.”

The video, produced with the aid of AI software, depicted each generation of the family since their immigration from Hiroshima, Japan, to Hawaii in 1894. Old family photos seemed to come to life to address the audience, using a script Ian Ishida created by digging through public records, family albums and genealogy charts.

The family’s history was not always an easy one, much of it colored by back-breaking work on Kauai’s sugar plantations for little pay. And, for however much the family loved the United States, the country didn’t always show that same love in return.

From a Japanese-American internment camp, James Ishida’s great uncle, Shiro Togo, volunteered to prove his loyalty in World War II, losing his life in the push to liberate France.

“It’s so funny because that video … we’ve watched it dozens of times by this point,” Ian Ishida said of his reaction to seeing a photo of Togo’s gravestone. “Still, seeing it now, that’s emotional.”

Still, James Ishida said the ceremony renewed his appreciation for being an American.

“It’s almost like seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child,” he said. “You’re seeing the country through the eyes of new citizens, and it gives you a fresh appreciation for what life is like for all Americans.”