LESSONS FROM WORLD WAR II: ENDURING LEGACIES OF JAPANESE AMERICAN INCARCERATION Sunday, October 23, 2016, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Event type Author Readings/Lectures
Where Central Library
Room Location Level 1 – Microsoft Auditorium
Audience Adults
Language English
Summary A panel of scholars in Japanese American history discusses racial profiling during World War II and current racialized politics. Presented in partnership with Densho.
Description It’s been nearly 75 years since 120,000 people of Japanese heritage were imprisoned as a result of racist wartime hysteria. It took decades for the U.S. Government to acknowledge their wrongdoing and Americans are still coming to terms with this black mark on our nation’s history. In this panel, three leading scholars of Japanese American history will discuss the circumstances that lead to incarceration and its bearing on current events, including racial profiling of American Muslims and the racialized politics on display in the current election cycle.
Panelists:
Karen M. Inouye is the author of “The Long Afterlife of Nikkei Wartime Incarceration” (Stanford University Press, October 2016). She is Assistant Professor of American Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington.
Greg Robinson is professor of history at Université du Québec À Montréal. He is the author of “The Great Unknown: Japanese American Sketches” (University Press of Colorado, September 2016) as well as author and editor of several notable books on Japanese Americans, including “A Tragedy of Democracy,” which was awarded the history book prize of the Association for Asian American Studies; “After Camp,” winner of the Caroline Bancroft History Prize in Western US History, and “By Order of the President.”
Lon Kurashige is the author of “Two Faces of Exclusion: The Untold History of Anti-Asian Racism in the United States” (University of North Carolina Press, September 2016). He is associate professor of history at the University of Southern California.
The panel will be moderated by Brian Niiya, Densho Content Director, who edits the Densho Encyclopedia and is the author of the “Encyclopedia of Japanese American History.”
Densho’s mission is to preserve the testimonies of Japanese Americans who were unjustly incarcerated during World War II before their memories are extinguished. They offer these irreplaceable firsthand accounts, coupled with historical images and teacher resources, to explore principles of democracy and promote equal justice for all. Densho is a Japanese term meaning “to pass on to the next generation,” or to leave a legacy.
Notes Library events and programs are free and everyone is welcome. Registration is not required. Parking is available in the Central Library garage for the weekend rate of $7.
This event is supported by The Seattle Public Library Foundation, author series sponsor Gary Kunis, and media sponsor The Seattle Times and presented in partnership with Densho. Books will be available for purchase from Elliott Bay Book Co. at the event.
Recorded for Podcast This event will be recorded for future podcast.
Contact Info *Central Library 206-386-4636 or Ask a Librarian
Room Capacity Space is limited at library events. Please come early to make sure you get a seat. Due to the fire code, we can’t exceed the maximum capacity for our rooms.
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