81 Years of Remembrance

February 19th marks the 81^st anniversary of President Franklin D. Roosevelt signing Executive Order 9066 in 1942, removing Japanese Americans from their homes, jobs, and taking away their freedom on the basis of race.

The Seattle Public Library honors the legacy and deeply felt impact of this order that has echoed through generations of Japanese Americans in Seattle and beyond. I would like to take this moment to offer respect to our Japanese American staff and patrons whose families were incarcerated, and share the history of the Day of Remembrance.

In 1970, Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry hosted an exhibit called “Pride and Shame” which advanced the movement towards redress and repatriations, while publicly and directly acknowledging Japanese Americans’ experiences in the United States during World War II to the general public. Organized by Seattle members of Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), this exhibit led to new research from scholars of Pacific Northwest history and civil rights and created space for Japanese Americans to build community and connect.

Almost a decade later, Washington State’s first Day of Remembrance was held at the Puyallup Fairgrounds on November 25^th, 1978—36 years after Executive Order 9066 was signed. Over 2,000 people attended and it was organized by dozens of community groups, including performing arts groups, churches, and veterans’ affairs organizations. The organizers were particularly concerned with healing divisions within the community as well as building wide support for redress from the government. In planning the event different organizers had different approaches they wanted to take: some ideas were floated around a dramatic reenactment starting in Pioneer Square simulating the forced removal that happened in Seattle in 1942. The idea was put aside as too political and logistically complex, and instead the event was advertised as a family-friendly potluck with performances, speeches, and access to information about future political actions.

To this day, organizations like Densho, Wing Luke Museum, Nisei Veteran’s Committee, and the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial advance research, educate, and preserve memories for future generations.

In 2022, President Joe Biden made a statement reaffirming the Federal Government’s formal apology and the Civil Liberties Act passed in 1988. The president officially declared February 19^th as Day of Remembrance on a federal level. Congressional Representative Doris Matsui, who was born in the Poston War Relocation Center in 1944, made her own statement about why Day of Remembrance is so important to observe:

“When we take the time to listen and learn from the ugly moments of our history, it enables us to better identify injustice in the present. […] We must continue to be vocal advocates for justice – reminding our younger generations of the work that remains to build a more inclusive, equitable future for us all.

The Central library is currently hosting Meet Me at Higo, a traveling exhibit from the Wing Luke Museum about how one Japanese American family’s store created community in Seattle’s International District, from the early 20^th century to the present. Learn more and plan your visit here: Meet Me at Higo: An Enduring Story of a Japanese American Family

This post is part of an ongoing series about Japanese American History in the Pacific Northwest:

• Introducing Higo! New Central Exhibition
• In Their Own Words: Densho and Japanese Americans making oral history
• Explore Seattle from the Margins with historian Megan Asaka
• “We Hereby Refuse” – Sharing the History of Japanese American Resistance, 80 Years Ago 

~ posted by Billie B.