Feb. 19 is a significant date for the Japanese American community. On this day in 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which gave the U.S. Army the authority to remove civilians from the military zones established in Washington, Oregon, and California during WWII.
This led to the forced removal and incarceration of some 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast, who had to abandon their jobs, their homes, and their lives to be sent to one of ten concentration camps scattered in desolate, remote regions of the country.
No Japanese Americans were ever charged, much less convicted, of espionage or sabotage against the United States. Yet they were targeted, rounded up, and imprisoned for years, simply for having the “face of the enemy.”
Every February, the Japanese American community commemorates Executive Order 9066 as a reminder of the impact the incarceration experience has had on our families, our community, and our country. It is an opportunity to educate others on the fragility of civil liberties in times of crisis, and the importance of remaining vigilant in protecting the rights and freedoms of all.
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Some Day of Remembrance evens have already been held. Below is a list of upcoming events in California.
Northern California
• Bay Area DOR: “Abolition! Reparations! Carrying the Light for Justice” on Friday, Feb. 19, at 6 p.m. PST. Info: www.njahs.org
• Yuba Sutter Arts Day of Remembrance on Friday, Feb. 19, at 6 p.m. PST. Info: https://yubasutterarts.org/event/japanese-american-day-of-remembrance/
• UC Berkeley Nikkei Student Union Day of Remembrance on Friday, Feb. 19, at 6:30 p.m. PST. Info: https://berkeley.zoom.us/j/291970015
• Paula Fujiwara – Talk for Renaissance Society DOR on Friday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m. PST. Info: renaissancesocietysacramento@gmail.com
• University of San Francisco – Day of Remembrance keynote speech: “The Irei Names Monument: A Memorial to Persons of Japanese Ancestry Incarcerated in the U.S. during WWII” on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 10:30 a.m. PST. Info: https://www.duncanryukenwilliams.com/events/
• Hayward Honors the Day of Remembrance on Saturday, Feb. 27, at 4 p.m. PST. Info: https://live-hayward.pantheonsite.io/events/hayward-honors-day-remembrance
Southern California
• What Does It Mean to be an American? Teacher Training and DOR on Saturday, Feb. 20, at 10 a.m. PST. Info: info@tobeamericans.com
• Gardena Valley JCI DOR Collections from Feb. 22 to 27. Info: https://www.jci-gardena.org/
For a complete list of DOR programs nationwide, visit: https://jacl.org/events/day-of-remembrance/