Tell eBay to stop selling Japanese American artifacts from WWII incarceration camps
Our families’ suffering is not your collectible. Once again, eBay is selling and profiting from the sale of Japanese American incarceration. On April 4, a 442 Army medic bag used by a Japanese American soldier was sold. Today at 6:46 p.m. PDT, 20 drawings made in 1942 at the Manzanar concentration camp will be auctioned off.
We are sending a letter to eBay executives telling them that we find these listings offensive, hurtful, and a degrading reminder of the mass roundup and incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. These imprisoned people were our parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, siblings and friends who lost homes, businesses, personal property, communities and lives.
WHAT ARE WE ASKING FOR: 1. That the auction of Matsumura’s landscape drawings be withdrawn immediately; 2. That current and all future listings of artifacts that are associated with America's concentration camps be included in eBay's Offensive Materials Policy and be banned for sale, including artwork as well as historical items such as letters, publications, personal belongings and other artifacts.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Please help us by signing the petition to tell eBay to stop selling Japanese American artifacts from WWII concentration camps. BEFORE THE MANZANAR DRAWINGS ARE SOLD. THAT AUCTION SALE ENDS TONIGHT AT 6:46 PM.
Petition: https://www.change.org/.../tell-ebay-to-stop-selling...
Schatz Introduces New Bill To Fund Education Of Japanese American Internment
Legislation Would Extend Site Preservation Beyond 2021, Create New Educational Grant Program
Friday, March 26, 2021
WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) introduced new legislation that would promote public education about Japanese American internment during World War II. This bill would permanently reauthorize the Japanese American Confinement Sites (JACS) program with $38 million in annual funding to preserve internment camps across the country. The bill would also create a new $2 million federal grant program to promote education of Japanese American internment.
“The internment of Japanese-American citizens remains one of the darkest and most shameful periods in our history. The stories of so many who unjustly lost their freedom, lost property and were forcibly uprooted from their homes should be a constant reminder of our duty to uphold the rights of every American,” said Senator Schatz. “This new bill would ensure that we continue to preserve internment sites and create a new grant program to educate more people about Japanese American confinement.”
In one of the largest violations of civil rights in United States history, the federal government forced approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans from their homes and into internment camps during World War II. While the United States provided a formal apology and compensation to surviving victims in the Civil Liberties Act in 1988 and created the JACS program in 2006, it is critical that we continue efforts to educate the public, preserve these sites, and honor the brave Japanese Americans who were subjected to interment.
The Japanese American Confinement Education Act will eliminate the sunset provision of the Preservation of Japanese American Confinement Sites Act of 2006 that would end the program in 2021, as well as provide $38 million to preserve JACS — including the Honouliuli Internment Camp in Hawai‘i. The bill will also create a new $2 million grant program to create educational materials about Japanese American confinement during World War II.
The bill is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai‘i), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).
Groups supporting this legislation include: Japanese American Citizens League, National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in Historic Preservation, Japanese American National Museum, National Japanese American Historical Society, JACS Consortium, Anti-Defamation League, Fred T. Korematsu Institute, OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates, Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in Historic Preservation, and Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii.
The full text of the bill is available here.
Matsui Introduces the Japanese American Confinement Education Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA) introduced bipartisan legislation to permanently reauthorize the Japanese American Confinement Site (JACS) program to preserve and educate Americans on the imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War II.
Just over seventy-five years ago, the U.S. Federal Government, through Executive Order 9066, rounded up and imprisoned 120,000 Japanese Americans. Based solely on race, Japanese Americans were stripped of their homes, possessions and civil liberties, and forced to live in remote military barracks. Yet, as time passes, the memory of mass, wrongful government roundup of innocent American citizens has grown increasingly distant.
“The imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War II will forever be one of the most atrocious violations of American civil rights in the 20th century. Those of us in the Japanese American community know too well what discrimination feels like, what kind of mark it leaves, and most importantly, what we can do to stop it,” said Congresswoman Matsui. “The Japanese American story is one that is not told nearly enough. It is one of pain, one of redemption, and one of enrichment. This bill will ensure that these lessons live into the future – that we continue bending the moral arc of this country by sharing these stories, lifting our voices, and fighting so that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past. The essence of the American experience isn’t that we’re perfect, it is that we heal from seeing where we’ve been and teach our younger generations to build a more inclusive, equitable future.”
“My parents and grandparents were imprisoned in Japanese internment camps during World War II while my Great Uncle Monso was fighting the war in defense of this country,” said Rep. Takano (D-CA). “This was a dark time in our nation’s history, but in order to move forward, we must not forget the lessons of the past. For that reason, I am proud to support the Japanese American Confinement Education Act to preserve the Japanese Confinement Sites and create an educational competitive grant to help educate younger generations about the unjust incarceration of Japanese Americans.”
"The forced internment of our fellow citizens through Executive Order 9066 is one of the darkest chapters in American history. The fact that it occurred during my lifetime highlights just how fresh of a wound this is for Japanese Americans across our country," said Rep. Young (R-AK). "In 1988, I was proud to support the Civil Liberties Act, which took crucial steps to acknowledge our nation's wrongdoing and to recommit ourselves to never letting racially-based incarceration happen again. Tragically, many of our young people no longer study this terrible moment in history, which puts our ability to learn lessons from this era at risk. I am proud to join my friend, Congresswoman Doris Matsui, as we introduce the Japanese American Confinement Education Act. If we do not acknowledge, reconcile, and learn from our history, we are doomed to repeat it. This bill takes crucial steps to educate younger generations about the horrors of Japanese internment. It is my great hope that we take these lessons to heart, and honor the families who were devastated in the very country they called home."
"I'm honored to support Congresswoman Matsui's Japanese American Confinement Education Act which would help ensure that generations of Americans know about the dark legacy of U.S. Confinement Sites," said Rep. Meng (D-NY). "Grounded in racism, Japanese Americans were forced into those facilities simply because of their ethnicity after the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II. While we have taken steps to memorialize and atone for this wrong, we must make sure that future generations also know of this painful history. I applaud Rep. Matsui for her leadership and look forward to her bill becoming law."
“The Japanese American internment was one of the darkest moments in our country's history,” said Rep. Lee (D-CA). “In order to prevent similar acts of racism and humanitarian violations in our country, we must preserve the memory and lessons from this time. The Japanese American Confinement Education Act is an important step in educating future generations through preserving confinement sites.”
“I am honored to co-introduce this measure to assure that all Americans know and understand one of our country’s darkest chapters, a chapter that saw our leaders committing and justifying a historic wrong against our Constitution and peoples of all races,” said Rep. Case (D-HI). "This chapter spared no part of our country including my home state of Hawai’i where, despite generations of loyal and constructive contribution, hundreds of Japanese Americans were interned at camps like Honouliuli, an only recently rediscovered site now memorialized as a national monument. It is only by knowing and understanding what happened and why that we can recognize future warning signs and avoid ever repeating this dark history.”
“When Representative Robert Matsui and I were lobbying to pass the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 along with Senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga, our goal was to have the United States Government acknowledge its mistake in illegally forcing thousands of people of Japanese ancestry from their homes and businesses to be imprisoned during World War II,” said Secretary Norm Mineta. “While the government apology and redress payments were essential elements of that bill, we all knew that educating the American people on the Japanese American World War II experience was of vital importance to ensure that no other group is similarly targeted. The original Japanese American Confinement Sites (JACS) program was a continuation of the educational process to preserve our history and to share this story with future generations. Representative Doris Matsui’s bill, the Japanese American Confinement Education Act, enables the National Parks Service to maintain its successful outreach program about a story that all Americans should learn to ensure that this shameful chapter in our history is never forgotten and never repeated. As Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Japanese American National Museum, I urge you to support Representative Doris Matsui’s bill to help our country learn from our mistakes to ensure a more just future.”
“The Japanese American Confinement Education Act will both continue and expand the promise of the Japanese American Confinement Sites grant program to further the interpretation and telling of the Japanese American wartime experience,” said David Inoue, Executive Director, Japanese American Citizens League. “What makes our country great is our capacity to recognize, remember, and learn from our past mistakes to ensure that we not repeat them. This legislation affirms that greatness as a nation.”
“The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation strongly supports the Japanese American Confinement Education Act, which will enable us to preserve sites where more 120,000 people were unfairly incarcerated during World War II,” said Shirley Ann Higuchi, JD, Chair of the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation “It will educate the country and the world about the need to prevent something like this from happening again.”
“The Japanese American Confinement Education Act is critical to ongoing efforts in preserving historic sites and cultural resources, strengthening education and interpretation, and supporting community-based, academic, and governmental partnerships in telling the stories of Japanese American confinement during World War II and its contributions to conveying fuller histories in the United States,” said Bill Watanabe, Co-Founder and Board Chair, Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in Historic Preservation.
Background:
The Japanese American Confinement Education Act would permanently reauthorize the Japanese American Confinement Site (JACS) program within the National Park Service (NPS), which is currently set to expire in 2022. This program has been one of the primary resources in the preservation and interpretation of the U.S. Confinement Sites where Japanese Americans were detained during World War II. Additionally, the legislation establishes a separate, new 5 year, $2 million per year competitive grant to create educational materials about the Japanese American confinement. This grant would require the recipient museum to develop and nationally disseminate accurate, relevant, and accessible resources to improve awareness and understanding of Japanese American Confinement in WWII.
Original Cosponsors: Representatives Rob Bishop (R-UT), Mark Takano (D-CA), Liz Cheney (R-WY), Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Don Young (R-AK), Ed Case (D-HI), Ken Buck (R-CO), Adam Smith (D-WA), Judy Chu (D-CA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Grace Meng (D-NY), Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC).
The Japanese American Confinement Education Act is supported by:
Japanese American Citizens League
Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in Historic Preservation
National Council of Asian Pacific Americans
Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation
Japanese American National Museum
JACS Consortium
JACSC Community Healing: Revealing Our Secrets
Friday, October 16, 2020 from 3:00-4:30pm PDT/6:00-7:30pm EDT
JOIN Shirley Ann Higuchi, JD and Dr. Satsuki Ina as they examine sections of Higuchi's book and the impact of multigenerational trauma in the Japanese American community. Representing different segments of the community, five panelists will join in a sharing circle to respond and reflect on their own experience and. the relevance totoday's Black Lives Matter, immigration policies and child incarceration.
Join on the Japanese American Memorial Pilgrimages (JAMP) Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3Iw4JIvAYg
Hosted by JACSC, JAMP, Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, Tsuru for Solidarity, Asian American Psychological Association and the National Park Service. Produced by JAMP.
Part of the #JACSC2020 Educational Conference
Registration open for 2020 JACSC Education Conference
Registration is now open for the 2020 JACSC Education Conference! We hope you will join us for this free, virtual conference around the theme Connecting, Empowering, & Transforming our Communities on October 17th and 18th! While we are not able to gather physically at the Japanese American National Museum this year as planned, we are grateful to JANM for hosting us digitally, and we look forward to gathering with you all to strengthen our field by learning from each other in this community of passionate leaders.
Our 2020 JACSC Stakeholder Business Meeting will also be held on October 17th, from 9:00-10:30 AM PDT. Please note that all times for both the business meeting and educational conference are listed are in Pacific Time, but that sessions will take place as online Zoom webinars available to all, until we have reached capacity.
Registration is now available at: https://bit.ly/3hITpWK
Please stay tuned for additional information including session descriptions and speaker information, which will be updated as it is made available at www.jacsc.org/events
JACSC Spring Meeting in Washington, DC Postponed
The JACSC Administrative Council met on March 9th to discuss an action plan for the upcoming DC meeting in light of COVID-19. We have monitored developments for our members nationwide, and understand that many have been advised not to proceed with travel or feel uncomfortable doing so at this time. We have decided to postpone the Consortium meeting that was scheduled for March 31 - April 2, 2020.
The Administrative Council will still meet in DC to work on developing strategy surrounding long term JACS funding. Additionally, we will be determining which key components of the JACSC business meeting can be effectively carried out online or via teleconference. Please stay tuned for additional information to come. We will let you know as soon as plans are in place for a remote business meeting, and when we have new dates for rescheduling our in-person advocacy visits.
We continue to work closely with JACL and will be providing guidance for an advocacy plan moving forward for the JACS program. We are confident that we will be able to mobilize our members and the greater community to have a positive impact in regards to FY21 JACS funding, as we have in the past.
We are very sorry for any inconvenience this might cause any of you, but hold your safety as our highest priority. We look forward to the work that remains ahead - stay tuned.