By Cindy Venegas
Staff Writer
A day of events commemorating the 75th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, which interned Japanese Americans during World War II, will take place Feb. 9 on campus.
Survivors, along with other families of those who lived through the discrimination of Japanese Americans in the 1940s, will share experiences and hardships and relate how they remain relevant in today’s political climate.
For those unfamiliar with E.O. 9066, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered Japanese American relocation during WWII. The president authorized the incarceration of tens of thousands of American citizens of Japanese ancestry, as well as resident aliens from Japan. Those who were not deported were held in detention centers with their families until the end of the U.S. declared victory in the Pacific.
The CSUDH event will be hosted in honor of those who suffered and shine light to the historic events to help prevent them from happening again, organizers said.
Sessions are open to the public, said Aly Hudspeth, events and ceremonies coordinator at CSUDH.
At least 100 attendees are expected at each session.
The afternoon will begin with an opening ceremony in the Shinwa-en Japanese Garden on the first floor of the SBS building.
The first talk will commence at 2:30 p.m. in Loker Student Union Ballroom C. It will be led by Mary T. Lacanlale, a CSUDH coordinator of Asian-Pacific studies, and artist Kim Yasuda, a professor at UC Santa Barbara.
Laura Talamante, chair of the CSUDH History Department, will facilitate a presentation by the executive director of Densho, Tom Ikeda, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.
Ikeda is a third-generation Japanese American whose grandparents and parents were incarcerated in the camps. He has directed over 200 video-recorded interviews with Japanese Americans.
There will also be an open reception at 5:30 p.m. in the Library Cultural Arts Gallery (LIB-1940) for the archives exhibition for those who wish to attend.
To wrap up the evening, filmmaker and psychotherapist Satsuki Ina, who was born in one of the maximum-security concentration camps in Northern California, will speak about EO 9066 and her experiences.
Students and staff are encouraged to attend, especially since this is not an annual event.
CSUDH Professor Karen Bowdre said students should come and hear the wisdom of the survivors and the historical conditions of WWII, especially in relation to what the government is doing today.
“I see unsettling similarities between EO 9066 and President Trump’s plans to build detention centers for U.S. immigrants,” said Professor Bowdre. “Similar to the Japanese Americans in the 1940s, the leadership of the country is allowing itself to be ruled by fear in addition to disregarding the rights of American citizens.”
