Interview of Tei Okamoto

Tei Okamoto relates his experience growing up in a Japanese-American community in Los Angeles and subsequent involvement in various radical queer movements and subcultures, starting with life at a well-known queer house in San Francisco, where he became deeply involved with AIDS activism and the underground party scene. He discusses the dissolution of his team at Tenderloin Health during the Schwarzenegger administration, and subsequent move with his partner, Gayatri, a professor at NYU, to New York City in 2009, where he continued to work in AIDS activism, and for groups including Queers for Economic Justice. He concludes by discussing his then forthcoming move back to Los Angeles, where he hopes to continue working as an activist to directly address the material needs of his community.

Date of Interview:

November 18, 2021

Location of Interview:

NYU Abu Dhabi- Saadiyat Island

Place of birth:

Interviewed by

Eman Abdelhadi