Local efforts to document Japanese American incarceration show history repeating

"Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Executive Order 9066 was issued the culmination of fomenting anti-Asian sentiment and President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the removal of people of Japanese descent from the West Coast. This led to the incarceration of more than 120,000 people of Japanese descent across 10 relocation centers or internment camps in remote areas in California, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and Arkansas."

"One of my primary goals is to communicate that we cannot simply cut ourselves off from that history; it is as real as something that happened last week, Suzuki said in an email interview. There are people alive who still remember what happened to them and their families, and that matters. Once we grasp that basic fact, we can better understand ourselves and the society we've inherited from previous generations."

Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor and issuance of Executive Order 9066, more than 120,000 people of Japanese descent were removed from the West Coast and incarcerated at 10 relocation centers across California, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and Arkansas. The removals were based on largely unfounded fears of espionage. Local historians in Los Gatos and Saratoga revisited the history amid contemporary immigration and deportation policies that threaten Bay Area communities. The Los Gatos Anti-Racism Coalition documented Japanese contributions in west Santa Clara Valley through a local narrative series released in November and December and worked to make primary sources accessible for high school classrooms.

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