TDART hosts “Asian American Discrimination: Then & Now” for Japanese American Day of Remembrance

“On February 18, 2023, the Tucson Desert Art Museum will host a special roundtable event
entitled “Asian-American Discrimination: Then and Now” to commemorate the annual Day of Remembrance
for Japanese American Incarceration during World War II on February 19. The event will be held from 11 am to
1 pm and attendees are encouraged to bring their own lunch.

Retired Professor Min Yanagihashi and Assistant Professor Brett Esaki from the University of Arizona will be
guest speakers. They will provide insight and historical context on the internment of Japanese Americans
during World War II, its ongoing legacy in the United States, and current-day prejudice against Asians in light of
COVID-19. The event aims to educate and raise awareness about the history and current issues of
discrimination against Asian Americans.

This event is in support of the exhibition “Citizen/Enemy: Japanese American Incarceration Camps” currently
on display at the Tucson Desert Art Museum through March 26, 2023. “Citizen/Enemy” confronts an
uncomfortable period in American history, when the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor led to the
relocation of 120,000 Japanese Americans to incarceration camps. The exhibition features historic documents,
installations, and large-scale images from noted photographers Dorothea Lange and Russell Lee, offering a
guide for reflection on this tragic political action and its repercussions for Japanese Americans.”

TDART is located at 7000 E. Tanque Verde Rd. in Tucson.

Tucson Desert Art Museum (tucsondart.org)

Carolyn’s Note: As many of you know, I was involved in the redress/reparations for this civil rights issue, as a Sansei attorney/Legislative Aide working for the late US Senator Dan Inouye back in 1979 and 1980. I was instrumental in the passage of S. 1647 which created the National  Commission on Wartime Relocation & Internment of Civilians, which thereafter investigated this wrong. The Commission issued a report “Personal Justice Denied” in 1982, which eventually led to monetary reparations and a public apology by President Ronald Reagan. But it was a long time coming.

Please join us for this discussion, on the 81st anniversary of the signing of E.O. 9066 by FDR.

Violence against (killing) of Asian Americans is still happening in America, as evidenced by the recent mass shootings in California.