As a Japanese living in the US, I will never forget the effort my ancestors made, the hardship they endured, the discrimination they faced, and the future they built for their children. Thank you.
In #Washington state, #JapaneseAmericans are joining #ImmigrantRights activists demanding the closure of an immigration detention center in #Tacoma run by private firm #GEOGroup. The Northwest Detention Center has been the site of several #HungerStrikes over the years due to #inhumane conditions. State inspectors were recently denied entry to the Immigration & Customs Enforcement facility. On Friday, groups blocked #Seattle’s federal building as part of their action.
During World War II, Colorado gained a reputation as a sort of “safe state,” thanks to then-governor Ralph Carr, who was a vocal opponent of Japanese internment, despite the fact that Colorado was home to a camp of its own. He invited Japanese families to come to Colorado, a move that arguably lost him his next election. It made a huge difference to the Sakatas, who had nothing to go back to in California, and to countless other families who found themselves in the same situation.
“Growing up in Brighton, at least, there was a pretty high population of Japanese Americans, and most of them were farmers growing up,” Rob said. But that didn’t make him immune from discrimination.
Tonight I spoke at an AAPI event and mentioned America's history of anti-Asian discrimination—including the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Asiatic Exclusion League, & Koramatsu & Japanese Camps.
Afterwards an older gentlemen approached me and said, "Thank you for reminding everyone the US Govt locked Japanese Americans in camps. I know—because I was born in those camps. I carry that with me til this day."
I was left in awe. A reminder—this isn't ancient history folks. It's contemporary reality.
A publishing house wanted an author to cut its reference to #racism in her #book re. a love story set in a World War II incarceration camp for #JapaneseAmericans
The author wrote Publishers "want to sell our suffering, smoothed down and made palatable to the white readers they prioritize. ... Our voices are the first sacrifice at the altar of marketability".