Grace First Presbyterian Church of Long Beach will be hosting a symposium about the significance and impact of Executive Order 9066 on Japanese Americans.
Signed by President Franklin Roosevelt on Feb. 19, 1942, E.O. 9066 authorized the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. Although two-thirds of the incarcerees were U.S. citizens and the non-citizens were legal immigrants, they were imprisoned in 10 concentration camps throughout the U.S.
Uprooted and taken from their homes, Japanese Americans had significant loss of property, identity, and family unity. There was no en masse incarceration of German Americans and Italian Americans.
Eighty years later, church members who are survivors of the camps will share their experiences and recollections on Saturday, May 7, from 1 to 3 p.m. (PST) at Grace First Presbyterian Church, 3933 Studebaker Rd., Long Beach. The free event will also be live-streamed.
Two of the main panelists who will speak at the event are Joyce Okazaki and Amy Tsubokawa. Okazaki, a member of the Manzanar Committee, was a child at Manzanar when famous photographer Ansel Adams visited the camp and photographed her. Tsubokawa, incarcerated with her family in the Poston, Ariz. camp, was featured in the documentary “For the Sake of the Children.”
Sponsored by the church’s Peace and Justice Ministry, this event will also feature displays and artifacts related to life in the camps.
For more information on the church, call (562) 420-3393 or visit https://www.gracefirst.org/.