I spent quite a bit of time exploring the Densho website. I was interested because the information was almost all new to me. I cannot remember, as a child in the 80s and 90s, ever learning about these camps throughout my elementary, middle, or high school years. I remember having in-depth units on the Holocaust and other aspects of World War II, but never do I remember hearing about this aspect of the War.
I also found this topic interesting because I actually lived in San Francisco for 5 years (1999-2004), so I have visual imagery in my head as I think about where the Chinese immigrants and Japanese immigrants lived. In San Francisco, there is Japantown, which is west of the financial district, and Chinatown, which is just north and adjacent to the financial district. I used to take the #19 bus everyday to work and it went straight through Chinatown. There is a definite distinction between Chinatown and the rest of the city - it is even marked with golden lions and a gate at the entrance of the neighborhood.
I always thought Japantown was just kind of symbolic though. There is a little archway that tells you it is there, and a couple shops, but no real housing that seems segregated, the way it is in Chinatown. This may be indicative of the fact that the Japanese were forced out of their homes and put in the internment camps and were just never able to reclaim that neighborhood when they got out.
I liked reading that Ronald Reagan was the one who finally made the formal apology and reparations to the Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans who were put in those camps. At least there was closure, and the Densho website is doing an amazing job of keeping the story alive so we can all remember what can happen during times of war hysteria.
I agree with you that there was little mentioned about this in school. I remember hearing about it, but only briefly and only that it was an unfortunate thing that happened as a result of widespread fear of the Japanese. I think this type of website is great as it serves as a reminder of what can happen when people are collectively judged based on their appearance, and where their ancestors came from. The people interned had no fair trail, and were indefinitely held, which is contrary to our rights provided by the Constitution. Like you, I was also glad to see that President Reagan condemned what happened to those interned.
ReplyDeleteI also wrote about how I knew very little about the Japanese internment camps. I went to school in the 90s and can't remember learning about it at all in elementary school, middle school, or high school. I think that this is definitely something that should be taught because I think that the best way to grow as a country is to learn from our past mistakes. We can only do this is the country is educated on everything that happened in our past.
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