To commemorate Day of Remembrance on Feb. 19, producers of the PBS documentary “Norman Mineta and His Legacy: An American Story” are streaming the award-winning film free all month at http://bit.ly/minetafilm.
Directed by San Francisco Bay Area native Dianne Fukami, the film captures the life, career and contributions of former Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta, the first Asian American mayor of a major city; the first Japanese American from the mainland to be elected to Congress; and the first Asian American to serve in a presidential cabinet.
“Beyond these groundbreaking achievements, Secretary Mineta personifies our dreams and aspirations,” Fukami said. “He is the son of immigrants forcibly removed from his home to spend years in a U.S. concentration camp during World War II. And yet, he remains a patriot. He led with integrity achieving a long and distinguished career as a public servant, and continues to champion the underserved and mentor young leaders.”
Commemorated annually, Day of Remembrance marks the date in 1942 when President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which led to the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.
“If it happened then, it could happen again,” Fukami said. “It is important for us to know and learn from our history.”
Along with the free stream of the film, the Mineta Legacy Project is co-sponsoring a free 2021 Day of Remembrance webinar for high school and college educators on Feb. 20 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time. The webinar is co-hosted by the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE), the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute.
During the webinar, panelists will demonstrate how to use the free online curriculum, created by SPICE at Stanford University, to teach about the Day of Remembrance and aspects of American social studies. Everyone is welcome to access the curriculum, which can be found at www.WhatDoesItMeanToBeAnAmerican.com and includes more than 200 primary source images and 23 videos.
“This curriculum is full of high-quality, standards-aligned activities for civics or social studies classrooms,” Fukami said. “Each of the six lessons was designed to challenge students to examine American history and identity by showcasing a diverse range of voices and experiences.”
To register for the free webinar, visit: bit.ly/DORteacherwebinar
Funders for the Mineta Legacy Project, which produced both the documentary and curriculum, include the Terasaki Family Foundation, The Toshizo Watanabe Foundation, and Sachiko Kuno Foundation. For more information, visit www.minetalegacyproject.com.