This year marks the 75th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which authorized the U.S. military to create zones for which it could exclude all people of Japanese ancestry, both American citizens and non-citizens.
A panel discussion on the order's significance, which Roosevelt signed on Feb. 19, 1942, its personal impact on Japanese Americans, and its significance today is scheduled for noon-2 p.m. Monday, Feb. 20, at Cal State San Bernardino.
“Understanding Japanese American ‘Internment’ Today: A Contemporary Perspective on the 75th Anniversary of Executive Order 9066,” a free program that is part of the university’s Yotie Talks series, will take place at the university’s John M. Pfau Library, room PL 4005. Parking at CSUSB is $6.
Participating in the panel will be Eri Yasuhara, CSUSB College of Arts and Letters dean emerita, and Stuart Sumida, CSUSB professor of biology, with other speakers to be announced. The discussion will be moderated by Cherstin M. Lyon, associate professor of history and author of “Prisons and Patriots: Japanese American Wartime Citizenship, Civil Disobedience, and Historical Memory (Temple University Press, 2012).”
Executive Order 9066 uprooted many Japanese and Japanese Americans; many were forced to leave their homes with only the items they could carry.
“The experiences of removal and wartime incarceration of 120,000 individuals were diverse, and are remembered by their children and grandchildren,” the program’s organizers said. “On the 75th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, we come together to remember the past, and to have a conversation about the lasting significance of Japanese American internment today.”
The program, open to the public, is sponsored by the CSUSB University Diversity Committee.
For more information, contact Cherstin Lyon at (909) 537-3836.
For more information about the university, contact the CSUSB Office of Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007 and visit news.csusb.edu.