Faces of the Past, Voices of the Present

The atrocious civil rights violations against Japanese and Japanese Americans during World War Two can never be forgotten. On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the notorious Executive Order 9066. Subsequently, over 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans were robbed of their freedom and civil liberties. Forced to “evacuate” from the west coast, their lives were abruptly altered. Leaving their homes, businesses, friends, and memories behind, thousands of innocent Japanese and Japanese Americans were quarantined into “internment camps.”

Although many APA communities continue to commemorate the significance of these events, many individuals from the mainstream public do not receive an adequate education about Japanese Americans’ experiences during World War II. Our history books fail to appropriately address the government’s hideous civil rights violations, and many history teachers do not include it in their lesson plans.

“Faces of the Past, Voices of the Present” uses the brilliant rhetorical elegance of personal narratives to bring the historical experiences of Japanese Americans to life. Created by students at the Ohio State University, this project uses oral history to educate others about the past and articulate multiple perspectives that transcend beyond the meager captions in school textbooks. You can actually watch the finished product of this amazing collection of true stories at: http://digitalunion.osu.edu/r2rsummer05/duberstein.2/index.htm.

For more information about the Japanese Americans’ experiences during WWII, please check out the following:

http://www.jacl.org/ed/curguide.html
http://www.janet.org/janet_history/ja_history.html
http://www.njamf.com/memorial.htm - National Japanese American Memorial stands proud in Washington DC. I was fortunate to visit it during a Leadership Conference last week. I strongly encourage you to visit it, if you are in the area!