San Jose State students were invited to the Day of Remembrance event held in the Student Union room three on Wednesday, aiming to bring awareness to the struggles shared by Japanese Americans in the U.S. during the internment period in 1942.
Internment camps were installed under Executive Order 9066 with over 120,000 Japanese Americans on the West Coast being incarcerated on the basis of suspicion of loyalty to Japan after the Pearl Harbor attacks on Dec. 7, 1941, according to an article by Britannica.
Students heard from a variety of speakers, including two former internment-camp survivors and a San Jose councilmember.
Councilmember Rosemary Kamei said it was important to recognize this was an act of civil betrayal.
“I want to emphasize the word ‘Americans’ – that this happened to Americans,” Kamei said. “As we lead through today, let us reflect on the impact of this decision that it has had on Japanese Americans.”
Kamei said she wanted the event to serve as a reminder that freedom in the U.S. is not always promised.
“Let us use this as an opportunity to educate ourselves and others on the fragility of civil liberties, especially in times of crisis,” Kamei said. “As we look around with everything that’s happening, we know how fragile it can be.”
Lisa Millora, vice president for Strategy and Institutional Affairs and chief of staff at SJSU, led the event with a memory exercise. She said she wanted to emphasize the incredible persistence Japanese Americans had amidst such a detrimental injustice.
“Let me say again, memory is powerful, and it can motivate our behaviors,” Millora said. “I hope that by remembering the injustice of interning 120,000 people, and by remembering the power of human spirit to persist in the face of adversity, we are called to act in ways that will bring greater justice to our communities into our world.”
The Day of Remembrance included a “fireside chat” with SJSU alumni Shirley Kuramoto and former U.S. house representative Mike Honda, who were both in internment camps as children.
Kuramoto said shortly after World War II, she was met with racial discrimination from a boy in her elementary school.
She said although she is 90 years old, the memory of racial discrimination is still fresh.
“I was in class or in school and this little boy – and it’s really amazing I can still see his face and still remember his name – he started calling me ‘jap’ and I never heard that word before,” Kuramoto said.
She said being on the receiving end of the slur was not a one-time occurrence.
“Once again he kept shouting that word,” Kuramoto said. “And he didn’t say it in a friendly manner and so I thought it’s not a good term, but I didn’t understand it at all.”
She said the introduction to her new life was abrupt and unexpected, but her main concern was leaving her canine companion behind.
“One day I went home and my mother says to me, without any explanation, ‘we’re gonna move,’ ” Kuramoto said. “And I said ‘you know what’s going to happen to our dog Shiro?’ ”
She said she had a special connection with her dog and still doesn’t know what happened to Shiro.
Kuramoto, displayed one of her art pieces that correlates with the sentiments she shared as a little girl about to embark on an unfamiliar journey.
She said her art reflected some of her most prominent physical and emotional affinities such as pigtails and Shiro.
Honda was 10 months old when he was forced into an internment camp. He said he had no memory of life prior to internment, but remembers the revolting living conditions.
“I was taken to Camp Amache after a few months in Merced, where we were housed in horse stalls.” Honda said. “So we had to clean our own horse stalls, it smelled dirty, there was flies and stuff like that, but aside for all that I still love horses.”
Construction on Camp Amache began in 1942 with Governor Ralph L. Carr advising the project. The camp was known to be one of the less restrictive camps allowing internees to decorate their quarters, according to a uncovercolorado.com blog post.
Honda said he was grateful that Associated Students took initiative in recognizing issues that resonate so deeply to him.
“I just want to take a moment to say thank you for your leadership and the kinds of projects that you have started to take time to change the character and the texture of this institution,” Honda said.
A.S. President Nina Chuang said it was an honor to host such a pivotal event and catalyze dialogue.
“I’m so honored for us to be here as we reclaim this space and this history gathered here today,” Chuang said. “I’m extremely looking forward to this intergenerational dialogue.”
