The Topaz Stories exhibit’s official opening reception at the Utah State Capitol felt celebratory and historic: 80 years after our families were incarcerated behind barbed wire 140 miles away in Topaz, we returned to share some of our family stories with the Salt Lake City public.
The venue was gorgeous, and the event was attended by about 240 people, including about 60 who had traveled from California and other states.
Before the program began, members of the Salt Lake City press had an opportunity to tour the exhibit and interview Topaz survivors and descendants.
We are grateful to the following local dignitaries for taking the time to attend and show their support for the Topaz Stories project and to stress the importance of similar public education initiatives:
Topaz Stories contributors, team members and supporters, these two citations are for you:
That brings us to the heart of the program–the stories.
The emotional highlight of the program was Joseph Nishimura’s reading of his own story, “Leaving Topaz.”
For press coverage of the event, see ksl.com’s article: “How a Utah exhibit about Topaz Camp looks to find empathy in ‘an ugly stain on American history‘” and an ABC news segment, “Topaz survivors tell their stories.”
We’ll post again soon with more photos of the exhibit visitors, reception attendees, and other contributors and Topaz families. We are grateful to Max Chang, who was our emcee, and Brad Westwood, who organized the logistics for the reception; you’ll meet them in our next post!
The Topaz Stories Team
Plan to visit the Topaz Stories Exhibit in Salt Lake City
Listen to KQED Forum: Remembering the Japanese American Internment, February 15, 2022
Listen to our interview on KRCL RadioActive, February 9, 2022
Read our Discover Nikkei interview
Listen to the Topaz Stories podcast
Follow us on Instagram @topazstories
Contact us if you have a Topaz Story to share.