On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, designating “military zones” along the West Coast from which all “enemy aliens” would be removed. When the time came for implementation, a distinction was not made between U.S. citizens and non-citizens–primarily the Issei generation, who were not allowed by law to become naturalized. As a result, over 120,000 Japanese Americans, two-thirds of whom were American citizens, were forced from their homes and incarcerated in U.S. concentration camps, most for the duration of the war.
One of these was Harold Hayashi, a 12-year-old student at Willard Middle School in Berkeley, CA. His mother, Margaret, who had been born in Hawaii, although busy preparing for the family’s abrupt departure to an unknown future, took the time to pen a note to Harold’s teacher at Willard. The letter was buried in school files until decades later. Read “Harold’s Excuse,” by Kimi Hill.
1: Harold Hayashi, Berkeley, CA, circa 1942. Willard Middle School, through Michael Williams, Archivist. Accessed on 1/31/2023 at National Museum of American History website, #1807798. 2: Mrs. Hayashi’s letter. Courtesy of Kimi Hill.
February 25: Special events in Tanforan. Join BART and Asian American Women Artists Association (AAWAA) on February 25 for an afternoon of arts activities following the Day of Remembrance and honoring the local history of Tanforan and beyond. Events are free but registration is required. For more information, click here.
The Topaz Stories Team
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Media Coverage:
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)