Executive Order 9066 Day of Remembrance at Tucson Desert Art Museum, 7000 E. Tanque Verde Rd. Tucson (west of Sabino Canyon Rd.)
February 18, 2017 11:00 am-2:00 pm
“Join us to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, which authorized the incarceration of over 100,000 Japanese Americans following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. War hysteria and racial prejudice allowed the government to institute a mass detention program based on “military justification.” Speakers include academic experts in history and politics from UA and ASU who have researched or have intimate knowledge of the camps.”
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Academic Panel discussion on Japanese American Internment during WWII featuring:
Carolyn Sugiyama Classen, former Legislative Aide to U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye
Prof. Kathryn Nakagawa, ASU Associate Professor in Asian Pacific American Studies, School of Social Transformation, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Prof.Min Yanagihashi, UA (retired), East Asian Studies Dept.
“Acts of Translation” to be read by poet Heather Nagami at 12:30 p.m. whose work has been on display there since Nov.5, 2016. Heather’s family was interned at several of the camps.
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Discussion on “Gambatte! Legacy of an Enduring Spirit: Triumphing over Adversity. Japanese American WWII Incarceration Reflections, Then and Now” featuring:
Paul Kitagaki, Jr., Photographer with Susie and Terry Matsunaga relating perspectives on incarceration from personal and family experiences.
More info about the 3 current exhibits on the WWII Japanese American camps, go to www.tucsondart.org. These exhibits are ongoing to April 30, 2017.
Gambatte! Legacy of an Enduring Spirit: Triumphing over Adversity. Japanese American WWII Incarceration Reflections, Then and Now;
Behind Barbed Wire: Japanese American Incarceration in Arizona;
Art of Circumstance: Art and Artifacts Created by Japanese Americans Incarcerated During WWII
About 100 people at this forum today with Prof. Yanagihashi providing first the historical background for WWII and the Western Defense Command under General John DeWitt which convinced FDR to issue E.O. 9066. He mentioned that the Trust Territory of Hawaii was composed 37% of Japanese Americans and economically, a roundup was not possible. Min also said that “military necessity co-opted civil liberties” for innocent people. Prof. Nakagawa spoke whose family was at several camps, and she has done oral histories of internees and the injustice of being incarcerated w/o a hearing or charges. I talked about being the right person at the time as Legislative Aide for U.S. Senator Dan Inouye to push for the National Commission which in 1981 investigated this “grave injustice” due to lack of due process (no hearing/opportunity to be heard). Redress of $20,000 per person were given after 1988 by U.S. Congress. My father had been luckily issued a voluntary pass & fled LA for Chicago, so he was not interned. Then Yonsei Heather Nagami read several beautiful and touching poems about her mother, born in Poston Relocation Center, and the family experiences there and afterwards.
Unfortunately photographer Paul Kitagaki Jr. was unable to attend, as his flight from California was cancelled due to winter storms. Finally Prof. Terry Matsunaga and his wife Suzie related experiences of their mothers as young people (Suzie’s mom age 14) in Gila River camp. Terry closed the day with a statement that these type of denial of civil rights “should never happen again” and he also said his father noted that it took “Sansei attorneys” to fight for redress. All 3 exhibits ongoing to April 30, 2017, so don’t miss them. Questions from the audience were about where did the WWII internees go to after the camps, what else is ongoing re: education, what camp conditions were like (medical care, recreation), etc.
Reminder: join us today at these panel discussions & poetry reading today to learn about the infamous WWII Japanese American internment, the civil rights that were violated, reparations and what happened to the descendants. At Tucson Desert Art Museum, 7000 E. Tanque Verde Rd. in Tucson.
as I write this a woman and her children were being chased by immigration nazi’s into a church where she and her children are surrounded as the seek sanctuary in this church in colorado. and all we get here is porn for liberals. the same crap day after day. when mrs. rays was sent back to mexico last week I asked bob lord to put something which he graciously did. what are you doing and the democratic party to stop this nazism. 75 years ago is NOW!