The Thought:
Description: This lesson asks students to engage with the legacy of the Japanese-American incarceration by exploring the experiences of contemporary Japanese-Americans and identifying connections to present-day events.
Student Objectives:
1. Analyze how a group of citizens used grassroots organizing to bring about acknowledgement and apology from the U.S. government for the Japanese-American incarceration.
2. Make connections between the treatment of Japanese-American during World War II and treatment of minorities in the present day, including Arab Americans and Sikh Americans after the terrorist attacks of 2001.
3. Identify ways they can contribute to creating a more just world and protect civil rights for all people.
Timeframe: Each activity is designed to last 30-45 minutes.
Materials: With Honors Denied Documentary, With Honors Denied Teacher’s Guide, Redress Timeline, index cards, The Cats of Mirikitani DVD (for extension activity)
Readings: “Centenarians Receive Redress Checks”, “An Arab American Internment?”, “Japanese, Muslims Recall Racism”, Interviews with Sikh Americans, The Journey: Japanese Americans, Racism, and Renewal by Sheila Hamanaka, Beacon Hill Boys by Ken Mochizuki (for extension activity)
Vocabulary:
bias
racial profiling
redress
reparations
rite of passage
Yonsei
Additional Resources: Divided Destiny: A History of Japanese Americans in Seattle by David A. Takami, Born in Seattle: The Campaign for Japanese American Redress by Robert Shimabukuro, Righting a Wrong (video), Timeline of Japanese American History
Teacher Preparation: Read pg. 78-90 of Divided Destiny: A History of Japanese Americans in Seattle. You may also want to read Born in Seattle: The Campaign for Japanese American Redress to learn more about the origins of the redress movement.
Activity 1: With Honors Denied
1. Write the phrase “rite of passage” on the board and explain that a rite of passage is an event that marks an important change in one’s life. Ask students to name examples of rites of passage, such as graduation, baptism, marriage, going to college, or getting your first job. Ask students how they celebrate rites of passage and why they are important to individuals. Write down their answers to refer back to at the end of the activity.
2. Tell students they will be watching a film about a Japanese-American woman, Yukiko Kubo Shiogi, who was a high school senior in 1942. As they watch, students should think about why a rite of passage was important to Yuki.
3. After watching the film, discuss the following questions in small groups or as a class [Note: The accompanying Teacher’s Guide, prepared by the filmmaker, has additional discussion questions and resources.]:
a) Why was graduating high school important to Yuki?
b) Although Yuki did receive her high school diploma, she was not allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony. Why was attending the ceremony important to her?
c) Why did Yuki not talk about her experiences after World War II?
d) Yuki finally attended her high school graduation in 2002. How did this event affect her? What impact did it have on her family?
e) If you were one of the high school seniors in 2002, how would you have reacted to sharing your graduation with the Japanese-Americans?
f) How was denying Yuki her graduation ceremony an injustice? Why is acknowledgement of injustices important?
4. Have students look back on their answers to why rites of passage are important, from the beginning of the activity. Ask them if they still feel the same way, or if their answers have changed after hearing Yuki’s story.
Activity 2: Redress
1. Explain that recognizing injustices and working to correct them is known as redress. Redress is defined as correcting something that is wrong, relief from wrong or injury, or compensation for an injury. Ask students why receiving redress is important to someone who has been harmed. Is Yuki’s graduation ceremony (discussed in Activity 1) a form of redress? Why or why not?
2. Have students brainstorm different forms redress can take. Examples include financial compensation, formal apologies, giving back items or property that had been taken, holding rites of passage such as graduation ceremonies, or reversing unfair criminal convictions. Ask students to reflect on what types of redress they would want if they had been unjustly incarcerated.
3. Pass out the Redress Timeline to students and have them read about each event. Ask students to discuss the following questions with a partner, and share their answers with the class.
a) What forms of redress are discussed?
b) How many years were there between the end of World War II and the signing of the Civil Liberties Act? Why did you think it took that long?
c) What was the social and political climate of the United States in the 1960s and 1970s? How might this have affected Japanese-Americans working for redress?
d) Did redress happen all at once, or gradually?
e) Who worked on making redress a reality? What challenges did redress activists face?
4. Have students read the article “Centenarians Receive Redress Checks.” Discuss how individuals at the event had different feelings about the redress movement. Why were some people disappointed in the results? How would you have felt if you were present at the event?
5. Ask students to write their personal reflections to the following questions: How did redress help heal the wounds of incarceration? Is the story over, or does more still need to be done? What is the legacy of the redress movement? Students may share their reflections with the class if desired.
Activity 3: September 11th and Stereotypes
1. Ask students what they know about the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Ask them to list similarities and differences between those attacks and the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.Interviews With Sikh Americans
2. Divide students into two groups. Pass out the article “An Arab-American Internment?” to students in the first group, and the article “Japanese, Muslims Recall Racism” to students in the second group. Have each student read their article and answer the following questions.
a) What similarities are there between the experiences of Arab Americans post-September 11, 2001, and Japanese Americans following December 7, 1941?
b) How are the circumstances different for the Arab Americans as compared with the Japanese Americans?
c) How do stereotypes contribute to the treatment of Japanese Americans and Arab Americans?
d) What is the author’s hope for the future?
3. Have students find a partner from the opposite group and discuss their answers with each other. Ask students to share their answers with the class.
4. Explain that the stereotype of a turbaned Arab terrorist also affected members of the Sikh community, who wear turbans as part of their faith. Tell students they will be reading interviews with Sikh Americans in the Seattle area, about their experiences after September 11, 2001. Ask students to how they think stereotypes affected Sikh Americans. [More information about Sikhs can be found at The Sikh Coalition website.]
5. Have students read “Interviews with Sikh Americans”. As they read, ask students to identity the biases and stereotypes each person faced. How did their experience affect him/her? What other examples of harmful stereotypes can you think of?
6. Ask students to reflect on the question “What can you do to stop stereotyping and discrimination?” Encourage students to think about concrete steps they can take in their daily life. Have students write down their suggestions post them in a corner of the classroom.
Note: The website Reclaiming Identity: Dismantling Arab Stereotypes has further information on Arab American cultures and common stereotypes, as well as oral histories of Arab Americans.
Activity 4: Looking Back, Looking Forward
1. Show students the mural on pages 38-39 of The Journey: Japanese Americans, Racism, and Renewal. Explain that Japanese-American artist Sheila Hamanaka painted this mural to tell the history of Japanese-Americans and her own family. Ask students to look at the mural and identify images or concepts they recognize from previous lessons. [Examples include Japanese-Americans working as farmers and in canneries, notices of evacuation orders, a mother holding a picture of her son in the army, and banners calling for redress.]
2. Divide the class into five groups. Assign each group one panel of the mural and ask them to identify what concept or historical event each element of the painting represents. Have students write down a brief description of each concept or historical event on an index card, and organize them into chronological order. Students may read through The Journey or do additional research to help identify unfamiliar elements. Students may also review Worksheet 1.1 (the timeline of Japanese-American history pre-1941). [If desired, this activity can be assigned as homework.].
3. Choose one group to read their index cards to the class, and then arrange their cards on the wall in chronological order. The next group reads their cards and adds them to the wall to build a timeline, paying attention to overlapping or simultaneous events. Once the timeline is complete, ask students to look at order of the cards and rearrange them if needed to create an accurate chronology.
4. Ask students to reflect on how the events in the timeline are connected to each other. How did historical events, such as the attack on Pearl Harbor or the actions of redress activists, influence future events?
5. Focus the students’ attention on the last panel of the mural. Ask them how the images in this panel represent resilience, renewal, and hope for the future. Invite students to draw the next panel of the mural, showing what they think will happen in the future. What is the next chapter of the story? Have students share their drawings with the class.
Activity 5: Research Project
1. Ask students to reflect on the questions “Now that you have learned about Japanese-American history, what do you want to learn more about? What contemporary issues do you want to understand more fully?” Brainstorm ideas for further research; these could be focused on Japanese-Americans specifically, or more broadly on Asian-Pacific-Americans or other minority groups.
2. Have each student choose a topic and do further research to explore the topic more fully, incorporating diverse sources such as books, documentaries, personal interviews, and websites. Encourage students to consider how their topic connects to issues discussed in previous lessons, including racism, stereotypes, constitutional rights, activism, and social justice.
3. Have each student present the results of their research to the class. Students may choose to do any of the following:
a) write a “newspaper” with articles and pictures
b) make a Powerpoint presentation
c) create a comic book or graphic novel
d) perform a skit
e) film a short documentary-style video
f) write a research paper
4. After all students have presented their projects, ask students respond to the question ““What can we do to ensure that every American feels like they belong?” Have students respond in a class discussion or by writing their reflections.
Extension Activity: The Cats of Mirikitani
Have students watch the documentary The Cats of Mirikitani, about the life of artist Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani. Discuss how being incarcerated during World War II affected Jimmy’s life, and the link between incarceration and homelessness. How did making art about his experiences helped Jimmy start to heal? What is the significance of Jimmy making his history visible through his art? [A gallery of Jimmy’s work is available here.]
Extension Activity (Grades 8-9): Beacon Hill Boys
Have students read the novel Beacon Hill Boys, by Ken Mochizuki (suitable for grades 8 and up). The novel is based on the experiences of the author, who grew up in Seattle in the 1970s. Themes to explore with students include the effects of the World War II incarceration on Japanese-Americans born after 1945, the relationships between Nisei and their children, the birth of the “Asian American” identity, and connections between different social justice issues, including anti-war protests, the women’s rights movement, and the African-American “Black Power” movement. [For more information on Ken Mochizuki, see his website.]