Our Reflections
Kerry:
Before the creation of this
website, I knew next to nothing about internment camps. The only exposure I’d
had to the topic was in a Fort Minor song “Kenji.” I included the song and
lyrics on the right. I have always been interested in Japan so when our group
had to come up with a research topic I posed Japanese internment camps to the
group. None of us knew much about it going into it so it would be nice for us
to learn more. We decided to narrow the scope to just the start of internment
camps. We wanted to know why internment camps were started and how the
government justified it when they were going to war against an enemy which was committing
atrocities in concentration camps.
When I was researching I was most surprised by 50.USC.21, which allowed the US to declare Japanese people as enemy aliens after declaring war against Japan. I had no idea that that was possible. I could imagine how scary it would be to hear about a bombing that you had nothing to do with and then suddenly be branded as an enemy the next day. Most of what I found was new to me but this piece of history really stuck out in my mind. As I researched this, I realized how little I actually knew about what happened following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. I could tell you the gist of how World War II was ended and that Japanese were in internment camps at the time but I had no idea how they got started or why they were allowed. This has widened my eyes to realize that I knew very little of history, even less than I thought. I remember my history education in school was focused around memorizing people, dates, and facts. Those are important but I feel like just knowing when Pearl Harbor bombed is not the same as reading Honolulu newspapers from the day after which reported on the bombing. Knowing internment camps were created is not the same as reading the Munson report and General DeWitt’s findings on the threat of spies. I now have a rich understanding of how internment camps were created that I will continue to remember without needing to memorize names and dates. The process of taking a question you are interested in and researching the answer is powerful. I know I found it to be and I’m sure students will as well. I take that knowledge away from this. I hope to have my students research history when possible, instead of only being drilled with facts or the gist of it. My contribution to this project was to write about how the internment camps were created as well as writing parts of all the other pages on the site. I also created the website and put together the information that was given to me by Lula and Julie. Lula:
Prior to this project, I had no knowledge of Japanese internment camps. As I studied its history, it was interesting to see the resemblance between the concentration camps of Nazi Germany and the Japanese internment camps of the U.S. Although the internment camps were not as ghastly and deadly as the concentration camps, they still infringed on the civil rights of citizens to live freely. There were also racial tensions between the Japanese-Americans and white Americans, not unlike the racial tension between Black Americans and White-Americans dating back to the 1960’s. Just reflecting on the pictures of signs referring to Japanese-Americans as “Japs” reminded me of photos where Black- Americans were labeled as “colored” and were forced to stay out of areas where White-Americans congregated.
My contribution to the project was researching historical background of the Japanese internment camps and addressing the key people involved in the process of internment camp creation. I also submitted a timeline that chronicles Japanese-American history in the U.S from 1884-1989. From this project, I learned that allowing students to become researchers would be more beneficial than asking them to memorize key dates and events. When students become experts on a topic, they are less likely to forget the material they have learned. Julie:
Before beginning this project, I knew nothing about the Japanese Internment camps during World War II, except that they existed. I was glad Kerry suggested this topic so I could explore what happened and how our government and other leaders justified this travesty. While researching, I realized that the bigotry and hatred I have learned about growing up in the South extended to the Japanese immigrants in the West.
It’s interesting to read that very few people stood against the idea of Internment camps. I think there were enormous fears and uncertainties related to the war, and there were probably normal people around the country who had no idea this was transpiring. As our society grows and looks back, we must learn that fear is no reason to take away people’s civil rights. I also was encouraged to realize how far our country has come with regards to passing more laws that create an environment of fairness for all citizens. As a future teacher, it will be interesting to combine information from this time period with the Civil Rights struggle as my students learn about equality and fairness. My contribution to the webpage was researching and writing almost all of the Historical background page and finding images to . I also helped with the storyboard planning of the website. |
"Kenji"
My father came from Japan in 1905 He was 15 when he immigrated from Japan He worked until he was able to buy respect and build a store Let me tell you the story in the form of a dream, I don't know why I have to tell it but I know what it means, Close your eyes, just picture the scene, As I paint it for you, it was World War II, When this man named Kenji woke up, Ken was not a soldier, He was just a man with a family who owned a store in LA, That day, he crawled out of bed like he always did, Bacon and eggs with wife and kids, He lived on the second floor of a little store he ran, He moved to LA from Japan, They called him 'Immigrant,' In Japanese, he'd say he was called "Issei," That meant 'First Generation In The United States,' When everybody was afraid of the Germans, afraid of the Japs, But most of all afraid of a homeland attack, And that morning when Ken went out on the doormat, His world went black 'cause, Right there; front page news, Three weeks before 1942, "Pearl Harbor's Been Bombed And The Japs Are Comin'," Pictures of soldiers dyin' and runnin', Ken knew what it would lead to, Just like he guessed, the President said, "The evil Japanese in our home country will be locked away," They gave Ken, a couple of days, To get his whole life packed in two bags, Just two bags, couldn't even pack his clothes, Some folks didn't even have a suitcase, to pack anything in, So two trash bags is all they gave them, When the kids asked mom "Where are we goin'?" Nobody even knew what to say to them, Ken didn't wanna lie, he said "The US is lookin' for spies, So we have to live in a place called Manzanar, Where a lot of Japanese people are," Stop it don't look at the gunmen, You don't wanna get the soldiers wonderin', If you gonna run or not, 'Cause if you run then you might get shot, Other than that try not to think about it, Try not to worry 'bout it; bein' so crowded, Someday we'll get out, someday, someday. As soon as war broke out The F.B.I. came and they just come to the house and "You have to come" "All the Japanese have to go" They took Mr. Ni People didn't understand Why did they have to take him? Because he's an innocent laborer So now they're in a town with soldiers surroundin' them, Every day, every night look down at them, From watch towers up on the wall, Ken couldn't really hate them at all; They were just doin' their job and, He wasn't gonna make any problems, He had a little garden with vegetables and fruits that, He gave to the troops in a basket his wife made, But in the back of his mind, he wanted his families life saved, Prisoners of war in their own damn country, What for? Time passed in the prison town, He wondered if they would live it down, if and when they were free, The only way out was joinin' the army, And supposedly, some men went out for the army, signed on, And ended up flyin' to Japan with a bomb, That 15 kilotonne blast, put an end to the war pretty fast, Two cities were blown to bits; the end of the war came quick, Ken got out, big hopes of a normal life, with his kids and his wife, But, when they got back to their home, What they saw made them feel so alone, These people had trashed every room, Smashed in the windows and bashed in the doors, Written on the walls and the floor, "Japs not welcome anymore." And Kenji dropped both of his bags at his sides and just stood outside, He, looked at his wife without words to say, She looked back at him wiping tears away, And, said "Someday we'll be OK, someday," Now the names have been changed, but the story's true, My family was locked up back in '42, My family was there it was dark and damp, And they called it an internment camp When we first got back from camp... uh It was... pretty... pretty bad I, I remember my husband said "Are we gonna stay 'til last?" Then my husband died before they close the camp. Video from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUBKcOZjX6g Lyrics from: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/fortminor/kenji.html |