Twin Cities JACL Day of Remembrance: A multigenerational and multiethnic look at the legacy of WWII incarceration, 81 Years Since Executive Order 9066

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Description: 

Eighty-one years ago, on February 19, 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which led to the incarceration of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans. Women, men, and children were imprisoned without trial as “enemy aliens,” even though most were U.S. citizens.

Forty years later, congress would condemn these events as a “grave injustice” caused by “race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.” Since those causes are still present in 2023 America, we observe a day of remembrance so that what happened then is never allowed to happen again.

This year, we will hear from New York Times best-selling author Bruce Henderson about his new book, Bridge to the Sun, on the thousands of Nisei who were trained in the Military Intelligence Service Language School in Minnesota as interpreters and interrogators whose actions shortened the war by two years. Afterward, we will have a multigenerational and multiethnic discussion on the significance of the Japanese American incarceration experience today.

3:00 – 3:10 Welcome and Introductions
3:10 – 3:40 Presentation by Bruce Henderson
3:40 – 3:50 Q & A with Bruce Henderson
3:50 – 5:00 Panel Discussion with Audience Q & A

Guest Speaker: Bruce Henderson

Bruce Henderson is the author of more than 20 books, including Sons and Soldiers: The Untold Story of the Jews Who Escaped the Nazis and Returned with the U.S. Army to Fight Hitler and True North: Peary, Cook and the Race to the Pole. He is the co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller And the Sea Will Tell (with Vincent Bugliosi). An award-winning journalist who has taught reporting and writing at USC School of Journalism and Stanford University, Henderson lives in Northern California.

Moderator: Yuichiro Onishi

Yuichiro Onishi teaches in the Department of African American & African Studies at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He is a member of the Education Committee of the Twin Cities Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League and a Former board member of the East Side Freedom Library.

Panelist: Sally Sudo

Sally (Ohno) Sudo was born in Seattle. As a child, she was imprisoned for three and a half years when President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which removed all persons of Japanese ancestry from their west coast homes and placed them in American prison camps. Her family relocated to Minneapolis in August 1945 due to her brother being stationed at Fort Snelling in the Military Intelligence Service Language School.

Panelist: Saengmany Ratsabout

Saengmany Ratsabout is the Executive Director of the East Side Freedom Library. He has over 20 years of experience as a program strategist working on community-engaged programs and projects, including those in public history, strategic planning, and civic engagement. He served as a consultant to media organizations, philanthropic institutions, and civil society organizations on issues relating to immigrant and refugee experiences. As a scholar, Sangemany’s research has focused on migration history, U.S. refugee resettlement programs and policies, experiences of immigrants and refugees, return migration and social remittances. 

Panelist: Ryan Sudo

Ryan Toshio Sudo is Vice President of the Twin Cities Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League. Through the JACL, he works to connect the history of Japanese American incarceration with contemporary social justice issues.

Panelist: Representative Samantha Sencer-Mura

Representative Samantha Sencer-Mura (63A) is the first Japanese American legislator in Minnesota history. A former educator and nonprofit executive, Representative Sencer-Mura works to center community in her advocacy for education and racial justice. (Photo Credit: Zoe Prinds-Flash).