Confronting History: Stories of Internment
February 19, 2022, marks the 80th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a wartime order which authorized the forcible removal and incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans from their communities in the Western United States and Hawai'i, including San Mateo County. This program series will explore these past injustices and inspire community action to combat current and future threats to our shared civil liberties. Presented by the Redwood City Public Library, the San Bruno Public Library, and the South San Francisco Public Library.
EVENT RECORDINGS
Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Love in the Library
SAT FEB 5, 11am
Hosted by RCPL
Maggie Tokuda-Hall will share her new book Love in the Library. Set in a desert internment camp this picture book is based on the love story of the author’s grandparents. One free book per family while supplies last.
Naomi Hirahara, Clark and Division
THU FEB 10, 7pm
Sponsored by RCPL
Edgar Award-winner Naomi Hirahara’s eye-opening and poignant new mystery tells the story of a young woman’s search for the truth about her revered older sister’s death and brings to focus the struggles of one Japanese American family released from Manzanar to Chicago during World War II. Free copies of her book will be available while supplies last.
First To Go Film Screening and Discussion
WED FEB 16, 6pm
Sponsored by SSF
First to Go presents an intimate, inspirational, and emotional story of the impact traumatic events can have across generations. This event includes a film screening and a Q&A with director Myles Matsuno.
Folding Cranes to Protest, Speak Out & Heal
SUN FEB 20, 1pm
Sponsored by RCPL
The events of WWII have inspired camp survivors, their descendants, and their allies to continue the fight for justice and an end unjust immigration policies. Learn more at this all-ages event combining art and activism.
Remembering Tanforan: Panel Discussion and Former Internee Interviews
WED FEB 23, 7pm
Sponsored by the San Bruno Public Library
Learn the history of the Tanforan Assembly Center, hear first-hand accounts of former internees, and explore the 2022 planned Memorial installation at Tanforan during this virtual panel discussion.
Kevin Kaatz & Linda Ivey: Citizen Internees
WED MAR 2, 7pm
Sponsored by RCPL
A banker's wartime correspondence archived at the RCPL Local History Room provides a rich glimpse into the lives of Japanese and Japanese American internees from Redwood City.
ADDITIONAL EVENTS
ADDITIONAL EVENTS
Katie Yamasaki, A Fish for Jimmy
FRI FEB 11, 9:10am
Hosted by SBL & SSF
Picture book author and illustrator Katie Yamasaki will discuss A Fish for Jimmy and the true stories of her family's experiences in the internment centers which inspired her book.
Meet the Authors: Misa Sugiura and Traci Chee
SAT FEB 12, 3:00pm
Sponsored by RCPL
These award-winning YA authors will discuss their books and the teen experience in internment camps and the pressures of living up to their family's grand expectations for them. Free copies of their books will be available while supplies last.
Meet Graphic Novelist Kiku Hughes
SAT FEB 26, 1pm
Sponsored by SBL and SSF
Displacement tells the story of a young American named Kiku who is suddenly transported to a Japanese American internment camp during World War II. Alongside her young grandmother Kiku "witnesses the lives of people who were denied civil liberties by their own government but still managed to create a community and commit acts of resistance in order to survive.
SPONSORED BY
Friends of the Redwood City Public Library
South San Francisco Friends of the Library
Friends of the San Bruno Public Library
BOOKS
FILMS
Other Resources
The Power of Words - An educational campaign to understand language euphemisms used to describe the Japanese American World War II experience and the preferred terminology that more accurately describes the dire realities of the experience.
Densho Encyclopedia - A free on-line resource about the history of the Japanese American WWII exclusion and incarceration experience
National Japanese American Historical Society - San Francisco-based organization dedicated to the collection, preservation, authentic interpretation, and sharing of historical information of the Japanese American experience.
Japanese American Museum of San Jose - Local museum showcasing a unique collection of permanent and rotating exhibits chronicling more than a century of Japanese American history.
Central Photographic File of the War Relocation Authority, 1942 - 1945 - From the National Archives. Professional photographers, including Dorothea Lange, were commissioned by the WRA to document the daily life and treatment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.
[Banner Image Photograph: "San Bruno, California. This assembly center has been open for two days..." by Dorothea Lange. From Central Photographic File of the War Relocation Authority, 1942 - 1945 via National Archives Catalog]
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