UCLA

This article examines a nonfiction account of the deepening empathy felt by Yamamoto toward African Americans. After "A Fire in Fontana"—title of her memoir—the author blames herself as a journalist for her failure at preventing a hate crime that results in the deaths of a black family in Fontana. Her visceral account evinces the importance of overcoming debilitating silence upon witnessing iniquities perpetrated against any marginalized minorities.