Ugly History: Japanese-American internment camps - Densho

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On December 7, 1941, 16 year-old Aki Kurose shared in the horror of millions of Americans when Japanese planes attacked Pearl Harbor. Unbeknownst to her, this shared experience would soon leave her family and over 120,000 Japanese Americans alienated from their country, both socially and physically. Densho explores the racism and paranoia that led to the unjust internment of Japanese Americans.

Lesson by Densho, directed by Lizete Upīte.

On December 7, 1941,

16 year-old Aki Kurose shared in the
horror of millions of Americans

when Japanese planes
attacked Pearl Harbor.

What she did not know,

was how that shared experience

would soon leave her family and
over 120,000 Japanese Americans

alienated from their country,

both socially and physically.

As of 1941,

Japanese American communities had been
growing in the US for over 50 years.

About one-third of them were immigrants,

many of whom settled on the West Coast
and had lived there for decades.

The rest were born as American citizens,
like Aki.

Born Akiko Kato in Seattle,

Aki grew up in a diverse neighborhood

where she never thought of herself
as anything but American–

until the day after the attack, when a
teacher told her:

“You people bombed Pearl Harbor."

Amid racism, paranoia,
and fears of sabotage,

people labelled Japanese Americans
as potential traitors.

FBI agents began to search homes,
confiscate belongings

and detain community leaders
without trial.

Aki’s family was not immediately subjected
to these extreme measures,

but on February 19, 1942, President
Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066.

The order authorized the removal of any
suspected enemies–

including anyone of even
partial Japanese heritage–

from designated ‘military areas.’

At first,

Japanese Americans were pushed to leave
restricted areas and migrate inland.

But as the government froze
their bank accounts

and imposed local restrictions
such as curfews,

many were unable to leave–
Aki’s family among them.

In March, a proclamation forbid Japanese
Americans from changing their residency,

trapping them in military zones.

In May, the army moved Aki and her family,

along with over 7,000 Japanese Americans
living in Seattle

to "Camp Harmony"
in Puyallup, Washington.

This was one of several makeshift
detention centers

at former fairgrounds and racetracks,

where entire families were packed into
poorly converted stables and barracks.

Over the ensuing months,

the army moved Japanese Americans
into long-term camps

in desolate areas of the West and South,

moving Aki and her family to
Minidoka in southern Idaho.

Guarded by armed soldiers,

many of these camps were still being
constructed when incarcerees moved in.

These hastily built prisons were
overcrowded and unsanitary.

People frequently fell ill and were unable
to receive proper medical care.

The War Relocation Authority relied on
incarcerees to keep the camps running.

Many worked in camp facilities or taught
in poorly equipped classrooms,

while others raised crops and animals.

Some Japanese Americans rebelled,
organizing labor strikes and even rioting.

But many more,
like Aki’s parents, endured.

They constantly sought to recreate some
semblance of life outside the camps,

but the reality of their
situation was unavoidable.

Like many younger incarcerees,
Aki was determined to leave her camp.

She finished her final year
of high school at Minidoka,

and with the aid of an anti-racist Quaker
organization,

she was able to enroll at
Friends University in Kansas.

For Aki’s family however, things wouldn’t
begin to change until late 1944.

A landmark Supreme Court case

ruled that continued detention of American
citizens without charges

was unconstitutional.

In the fall of 1945,

the war ended and the camps closed down.

Remaining incarcerees
were given a mere $25

and a train ticket to their
pre-war address,

but many no longer had a home
or job to return to.

Aki’s family had been able to
keep their apartment,

and Aki eventually returned
to Seattle after college.

However, post-war prejudice
made finding work difficult.

Incarcarees faced discrimination
and resentment

from workers and tenants
who replaced them.

Fortunately, Japanese Americans
weren’t alone

in the fight against
racial discrimination.

Aki found work with one of Seattle’s first
interracial labor unions

and joined the Congress
of Racial Equality.

She became a teacher,
and over the next several decades,

her advocacy for multicultural, socially
conscious education

would impact thousands of students.

However, many ex-incarcerees,
particularly members of older generations,

were unable to rebuild
their lives after the war.

Children of incarcerees began a movement

calling for the United States to atone
for this historic injustice.

In 1988, the US government officially
apologized for the wartime incarceration–

admitting it was the catastrophic result
of racism, hysteria,

and failed political leadership.

Three years after this apology,

Aki Kurose was awarded the
Human Rights Award

from the Seattle Chapter
of the United Nations,

celebrating her vision of peace and
respect for people of all backgrounds.