From the Director: Tom Ikeda

Densho preserves the stories, photographs, and documents of the World War II Japanese American experience so that they don't get lost over time. We also share these collected stories, photographs, and documents using website technology to keep the stories alive for younger generations. Our next step is to challenge ourselves and others to use these stories, photographs, and documents to think about what happened to Japanese Americans during World War II and connect these thoughts to events both current and in the future.

For the Sunday, April 29th edition of the Seattle Times, we had the opportunity to co-produce an eight page educational supplement for their "Newspapers in Education" program. We described what happened 70 years ago to Japanese Americans using materials we collected and challenged readers to examine these materials alongside more current events like the bullying of a Muslim girl in school. This approach is consistent with our classroom education program, which focuses on training teachers to use primary sources to promote thoughtful discourse over controversial topics, a critical skill for all of us.

Please let me know at tom.ikeda@densho.org what you think about the Seattle Times insert and what we are doing. Also remember to GiveBIG today!

>> Download a PDF of the educational insert

Archive Spotlight

Norman Mineta: A Cabinet Meeting the Day after 9/11

Norman Mineta was incarcerated as a child at the Heart Mountain concentration camp in Wyoming. He was later elected to Congress and served as Secretary of Transportation under President George W. Bush. In this clip, he describes a meeting of the U.S. Cabinet and Congressional leaders the day after the terrorist acts on September 11, 2001.

>> See the featured sample from the Densho Digital Archive
>> Register for the free Densho Digital Archive

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Densho News

Seattle Times Educational Insert

On Sunday, April 29, 2012, the Seattle Times published an educational insert that will reach over 800,000 readers. A webpage with more information for the insert was created by Densho. Please contact us at info@densho.org if you would like us to mail you a copy of the insert. The educational insert was made possible through funding from the Tateuchi Foundation, the National Park Service, and the Seattle Times Newspapers in Education program.

>> Download a PDF of the educational supplement
>> More information about the insert

Register for Teacher Training Workshops

Densho is presenting teacher training workshops in Seattle and Boise in June. These workshops will use the educational insert and other Densho materials to examine how to use primary sources in the classroom. The workshops will be led by Executive Director Tom Ikeda and Education Consultant Janet Hayakawa.

Funding for these workshops is provided in part by the 4Culture Heritage Cultural Education Program and the Minidoka National Historic Site.

>> Seattle, WA - June 9, 2012. For more information

>> Boise, ID - June 21, 2012. To register or for more information contact Carol Ash at carol_ash@nps.gov or (208) 933-4125

Give Big Today and Multiply your Donation by 7

The Seattle Foundation is doing a one-day, online event called GiveBIG. Donations to Densho through the Seattle Foundation TODAY, May 2, 2012, will be matched with a "stretch pool" of funds. Challenge grants from the Tateuchi Foundation and the National Park Service will then increase this combined contribution. For example, if you donate $100 and the Seattle Foundation matches with $15 (based on last year's stretch pool), the Tateuchi Foundation will match the $115, and the NPS will double match the entire amount with $460. So the initial $100 donation gets multiplied into a $690 contribution towards Densho's education effort.

>> Donate to Densho through the Seattle Foundation
>> For more information

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