“Angel Island’s Hidden History: WWII Detention of ‘Enemy Aliens’” will be presented on Saturday, Oct. 18, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at the Japanese American National Museum’s Democracy Center, 100 N. Central Ave. in Little Tokyo.
Join JANM and the Nikkei Genealogical Society for an in-depth guide to the hidden history of Angel Island during World War II. Historian and genealogist Grant Din, co-curator of the exhibit “Taken From Their Families,” will illuminate the experiences of nearly 700 Japanese immigrants temporarily detained at Angel Island’s Fort McDowell before transfer to other camps.
As a former director of community resources for the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation and a 40-year veteran in genealogical research, Din offers deep knowledge of the immigration hub and its overlooked role as a World War II detention center.
Located in San Francisco Bay, the Angel Island Immigration Station served as the largest immigration port on the West Coast between 1910 and 1940. Approximately 500,000 immigrants from 80 countries were processed, detained, and/or interrogated at the site. The majority were from China.
This program is presented in partnership with the Nikkei Genealogical Society.
Free admission but RSVPs are requested. Info/tickets: www.janm.org/events/2025-10-18/angel-islands-hidden-history-wwii-detention-enemy-aliens
Grant Din is an expert in genealogical and historical research. His research spans the U.S., China, and Japan. He has led workshops and published articles in genealogical and historical publications, and serves on the California Genealogical Society board. He holds degrees from Yale and Claremont Graduate University, and a genealogical research certificate from Boston University.
Din has shared on Discover Nikkei some of the stories of the 700+ Americans of Japanese descent who were arrested by the FBI in Hawaii and the West Coast after Pearl Harbor and spent some time on Angel Island.