February 12, 2016
When the first Day of Remembrance was held in Seattle in November 1978, the event was staged as part of the Redress Movement seeking an official apology and monetary compensation for those who had been unjustly incarcerated during World War II.
Volunteers re-enacted the removal of the Seattle Japanese American community to the Puyallup Assembly Center: “Instructions To All Persons of Japanese Ancestry” posters and were nailed to telephone poles just as they had been during the war; organizers produced replicas of family name tags to give to attendees; participants gathered at a vacant lot next to the old Seattle Pilots baseball park and caravaned to Puyallup. In all, 3,000 people participated.
Today, Day of Remembrance events are held across the country and have taken on a new meaning. Now held on February 19, the day in 1942 that FDR signed Executive Order 9066, the events honor those impacted by World War II incarceration and connect that history to current events.
Here, we’ve compiled a list of 2016 Day of Remembrance events. If you know of an event that’s not an the list, email us and we’ll add it: info@densho.org
This list was compiled in collaboration with the University Press of Colorado; see their post here.
(All times are local)
Saturday, February 13
California Museum
$20.00 GA, $15.00 Student Admission
Sunday, February 14
San Jose State University
San Jose, California
5:30pm-7:30pm
Free and open to the public.
Monday, February 15—Friday, February 19
Free and open to the public
Thursday, February 18
Cal State University
Long Beach, California
6:30 – 9:00 p.m.
Free and open to the public.
Open to Nisei veterans and incarcerees. For more information, please contact the Nisei Veterans Committee at info@nvcfoundation.org.
Friday, February 19
South San Francisco, California
6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
New People Cinema
San Francisco, California
10:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Tickets: $10 ($8 for students); packages available
Japanese American Incarceration and the Art of Identity
with Roger Shimomura
National Museum of American History
Washington, D.C.
5:30 – 8:45 p.m. (Displays, Performance, & Book Signing)
Saturday, February 20
Pay what you wish.
Collections Up Close: Letters from Beyond the Fence
Deschutes Public Library, Presented by Oregon Nikkei Endowment
Bend, Oregon
2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Free and open to the public.
Lunch and conversation with Brian E. Shiozawa MD, followed by film screening
Pleasant Valley Library
Ogden, Utah
12:00 – 2:00 p.m.
Cost: $10 at the door
“The Empty Chair” Film Screening
The unique story about how Japanese Americans from Juneau, Alaska, were sent to prison camps during World War II and how people from the community stood in quiet defiance against the immoral internment of American citizens. Co-Presented By: JACL Seattle and ACLU Washington
Northwest Film Forum
Seattle, Washington
12:00 p.m.
Cost: $11; packages available
Sunday, February 21
“Building Bridges of Inclusivity”
Program will feature a presentation about the history of anti-Asian prejudice in the United States leading up to the WWII concentration camps and Amache, the camp in southeast Colorado. The event will conclude with a panel discussion moderated by Facing History, with representatives from the Japanese American, Muslim and Sikh communities.”
Presented by the Mile High Chapter of the JACL
History Colorado Center
Denver, Colorado
1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Free and open to the public.
Chicago History Museum
Chicago, Ilinois
Seattle, Washington
Proceeds go to scholarships for youth and incarcerees over 80 years old to attend the Minidoka Pilgrimage.
Free admission; suggested donation of $8
Monday, February 22
Unsettle~Resettled: Seattle’s Hunt Hotel
A permanent exhibit opening to the public for the first time. This exhibit sheds light on the post-war era (1945-1959) of the Japanese Language School when the buildings were converted into a temporary hostel and recalls the experiences of families and individuals who lived there.
Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Washington
Seattle, Washington
Free and open to the public.
Tuesday, February 23
$6.27–$11.54
Saturday, February 27
2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Free and open to the public.Sunday, February 28
WWII Nikkei Camp Artifacts—Historical Treasures
Salinas Assembly Center
Salinas, California
1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Free and open to the public.