Did you know that April 29 is Duke Ellington Day? Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington was born on April 29, 1899.
Amy Morizono Eto grew up listening to his music and learned the dances of the day from some of the customers at her dad’s grocery store in Oakland. Among the essential items packed in her suitcase when her family was removed to Tanforan in 1941 was her collection of the Duke’s records.
In Topaz she began teaching her younger brother to dance. Soon other bored teenagers started coming to the barrack apartment where Amy worked as an assistant to the block manager. Amy taught all of them to dance to the music of Duke Ellington.
People all over the world loved and admired Duke Ellington and his music–perhaps none more so than the Topaz teenagers who found brief respite from incarceration in “Dancing to Duke.” Read Amy’s story here.
The Topaz Stories Team
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Media Coverage:
Read Internee’s story told with ‘Topaz Collages’ (Wheel of Dharma, Vol. 5, Issue 3, March 2023).
Watch Topaz survivors tell their stories (abc4 news, 4/22/2022)
Listen to the “In the Hive” podcast with interviews with Ann Dion, Jonathan Hirabayashi, and Topaz survivors Jeanie Kashima and Joseph Nishimura (KCPW, 4/28/2022)
Read How a Utah exhibit about Topaz Camp looks to find empathy in ‘an ugly stain on American history (ksl.com, 4/22/2022)
Read “Topaz Stories rise from the dust,” (Department of Culture & Community Engagement, 4/2022)
Listen to KQED Forum, Day of Remembrance interview with Ruth Sasaki, 2/15/2022
Listen to Max Chang and Ruth Sasaki interviewed (KRCL RadioActive, 2/9/2022
Read On Topaz Stories and ‘Authentic Voice’, the Discover Nikkei interview with Ruth Sasaki (10/14/2022)
Listen to Remembering the Japanese American Incarceration, the Topaz Stories podcast with Ruth Sasaki and Jonathan Hirabayashi (6/2/2021)