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Ann Ishimaru

Special edition: Remembering To Make Anew

Published 18 days ago • 1 min read

Hi Reader,

After my last epically long newsletter (lol), this missive will be short! I could not miss sending something about February 19, aka Day of Remembrance.

As a kid, I felt like the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans was abstract ancient history. Even though I knew my dad was born in camp and all my grandparents were incarcerated. I simply couldn’t imagine it happening in the U.S.

As I got older, I started to realize how much of my own upbringing was tied up in that legacy. The language didn’t just get “lost” as though we misplaced it – it was taken by government mandate. The intergenerational impacts of trauma, the nagging feeling that being ourselves out in the world could have dire consequences. But I was also inspired by young sansei who led the fight for reparations and Japanese American organizers like Yuri Kochiyama who showed us what solidarity looks like.

The Day of Remembrance marks the signing of Executive Order 9066 in 1942 that sent more than 120,000 Japanese Americans (two-thirds American citizens!) to be incarcerated in dehumanizing conditions due to racist federal policy.

It’s not distant abstract history for me now. Many cities have events, and there are films as well as pilgrimages to most of the former camps (often thanks to partnerships with tribal communities). The parallels between this history and what’s happening now to children, families, schools and communities in the U.S. are not coincidental. In the spirit of remembering, learning and doing better, here’s a shortlist of resources:

May our remembering fuel our action,

Ann

600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246
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Ann Ishimaru

Codesigning collective leadership for joyful learning and just futures

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