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Wall Street Journal: Art Review Meets Incarceration Apologism
In his latest foray into historical revisionism parading as art review, Edward Rothstein, writing for The Wall Street Journal, would like viewers of two exhibits on Japanese American WWII incarceration…
Little Known Stories of Japanese Americans Who Resisted Incarceration
Stories of resistance to World War II incarceration often include Gordon Hirabayashi, Minoru Yasui, Fred Korematsu, and Mitsuye Endo. These are the most famous Japanese Americans who resisted the racially…
“Never Again” Event Livestream
Join us as we examine World War II-era Japanese American incarceration history and how it relates to American Muslim rights today. Presenters include Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, Densho director Tom Ikeda,…
Allegiance: See the Film, But Watch for these Historical Inaccuracies
By now most of us know that Allegiance, a musical portraying the Japanese American incarceration and that starred George Takei, ran on Broadway for a few months in 2015–16. And…
Teacher Workshop: Examining Race and Discrimination
Looking to register for our May 18 Seattle Workshop? Follow this link: bit.ly/Densho-TW-RD201905 This spring, Densho is hitting the road with a new workshop for secondary teachers. Educators in Seattle,…
This is Not a Test
Statement from Densho Director Tom Ikeda For decades, “Never Again” has been a rallying cry for many Japanese Americans. Invoking these words reminds us of the trauma of our own…
We Need to Talk About the Katy Perry PSA
“Don’t let history repeat itself,” implores a widely-shared and well-received PSA published by pop star Katy Perry this week. The film short, funded by Perry and directed by Aya Tanimura…
Support for Muslim Association of Puget Sound
Earlier this month, community leaders, including Densho director Tom Ikeda, gathered at Redmond’s Muslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS) mosque to dedicate a new sign, replacing one that had been…
What The LA Times Meant to Say…
On Sunday, The Los Angeles Times published two reader letters that employed racial stereotypes, misinformation, and logical fallacies to argue in favor of the World War II-era mass incarceration of…
What Pearl Harbor Meant for Japanese Americans
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese navy launched a surprise military attack against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor located on the island of O’ahu. The attack not…
“Democracy is for the Unafraid”
As a chronicler of American race relations, writer Chester B. Himes was deeply impacted by the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans. In his 1945 debut novel, “If He Hollers Let…
Japanese American WWII Incarceration: Not a Precedent for Proposed Muslim Registry
It’s been a week since Carl Higbie came under fire for citing Japanese American incarceration as a precedent for Donald Trump’s proposed Muslim registry. Densho staffers joined the chorus of voices…
The Lessons of WWII Japanese American Incarceration are Needed Now More than Ever
Throughout this year of 20th anniversary celebrations, we have been invigorated by the accolades and warmth we felt from our community. But we know we have a lot of work to…
In the wake of the presidential election, let’s be upstanders not bystanders
We are deeply concerned about the state of our nation. In the aftermath of the presidential election, there has been a spike in hate crimes against people of color, Muslim…
Nisei Veterans of World War II: Photo Essay and Resource List
“No loyal citizen of the United States should be denied the democratic right to exercise the responsibilities of his citizenship, regardless of his ancestry….Americanism is not, and never was, a…
Exiled: The Anti-Immigrant Roots of Mass Deportation in Mexican and Japanese American Repatriation
Following a blueprint laid out by the Depression-era Mexican Repatriation, Japanese Americans were subjected to deportation during WWII as a punitive measure for their supposed disloyalty. This practice has been…
Densho’s First Annual Scholars Roundtable
This weekend, a group of scholars working on World War II Japanese American incarceration history convened in Seattle for a roundtable event hosted by Densho and co-convened by Eric Muller,…
Minoru Yasui: Celebrating a Legacy of Civil Rights Activism
Minoru “Min” Yasui was one of four Japanese Americans who fought the legality of exclusion and/or detention during World War II all the way to the Supreme Court. While he…
Japanese Americans Incarcerated During WWII Could Still Vote, Kind Of
This article was co-published at PRI.org. During World War II,120,000 Americans of Japanese descent were stripped of their rights and property under the guise of national security. They were packed…
Notable Niseis and Allies Who Would’ve Celebrated Their 100th Birthdays in 2016
By Brian Niiya, Densho Content Director I had intended to contribute to this blog a lot more, and one of the types of pieces I hoped to do were essays on…
Remembering Uncle Bob and Charlie
This weekend, Seattle lost two pioneering figures in the city’s civil rights history, Robert Santos and Charles Z. Smith. Densho Executive Director Tom Ikeda pays tribute to them both. What…
10 Documentaries about Japanese American Incarceration you can Watch Online for Free Right Now
There are now literally a couple of hundred documentary films about some aspect of the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. Unfortunately, many of them…
What “Back to School” Looked Like in World War II Concentration Camps
“Nineteen forty-two, how full of events it has been. So many turning points, crisises [sic], days of anxiety and disappointment, yet some happy moments, too. It was like a goodbye to…
Tom Ikeda: “Why Densho Matters to Me”
Twenty years ago when Densho started, I began interviewing Japanese Americans about what it was like being incarcerated during World War II. To help me become a better interviewer I…