UPCOMING EVENTS
Day of Remembrance
No Barbed Wire, No Wall – Carrying the Light for Justice
AMC Kabuki Cinemas, San Francisco
Sunday, February 18, 2018 at 2:00pm
Speak Out For Justice
San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin
Sunday, February 18, 2018 at 5:30pm
PAST EVENT HIGHLIGHTS
Media Conference on Pearl Harbor Day – December 7, 2017
San Francisco, CA
The Bay Area Day of Remembrance Consortium sponsored a media conference on December 7th, focusing on the impact of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the treatment of Japanese Americans and Japanese Latin Americans during WWII and drawing parallels with the Trump Administration’s policies. The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to allow the controversial Trump travel ban against citizens of six majority Muslim countries, even as legal challenges are pursued in the courts, was highlighted.
Grace Shimizu shared the breaking news that Trump is considering proposals to set up a global privatized spy network which would circumvent U.S. intelligence agencies and to privatize a program of rendition with kidnapping and detention. “We don’t want mass incarceration, racial/ethnic profiling, kidnapping, indefinite detention, hostage exchange in the name of national security.”
JACL National Youth Conference – July 9, 2017
Washington, D.C.
Grace Shimizu and long-time supporter Phil Nash spoke about the Japanese Latin American internment and redress experiences after a ‘Hidden Internment’ screening at the closing session of the JACL National Youth/Student Council conference. Grace shared, “By gaining a fuller sense of our history–especially the vulnerability of both citizenship rights and immigrant rights–within and among nations, we can draw sharper insights and lessons about our past and apply them better to the challenges we face today.“
The session participants discussed the relevance of the JLA wartime experience and ongoing redress struggle to current justice struggles and offered to help publicize and take the movement forward.
Medaka no Gakko – June 30, 2017
Palo Alto, CA
Sato-Sensei’s class at Medaka no Gakko in Palo Alto watched the ‘Hidden Internment’ documentary followed by a Q&A with Art Shibayama, wife Betty, and daughter Bekki. Art was the same age as the students when his family was seized in Peru and interned in the U.S.
The students shared which of Art’s experiences would have been hardest for them: imprisoned for no reason, taken to a country where I didn’t know the language, not being able to see my friends, having family members used in a hostage exchange, brought to the US against my will but told I was an illegal alien, never seeing my grandparents again, not being able to return home…among others.
JAMsj Event – June 24, 2017
San Jose, CA
‘Hidden Internment: The Art Shibayama Story’ was screened at the Japanese American Museum of San Jose to a full crowd. Grace Shimizu provided updates on litigation after the documentary was filmed and on the IACHR hearing, Bekki Shibayama spoke about the impact of the internment experiences on her family, and Art Shibayama answered many questions about his experiences at the end of the program.
Okásan & Me Breakfast – May 20, 2017
San Jose, CA
Supporters Cynthia and Richard Konda hosted an educational breakfast with some Okásan & Me students and their parents. The future looks bright as the students demonstrated their political and social awareness with impressive questions for Art Shibayama.
NJAHS Annual Awards – May 6, 2017
San Francisco, CA
Art Shibayama and Grace Shimizu were honored with National Japanese American Historical Society awards for their enduring quest for justice at the MIS Historic Learning Center, Presidio of San Francisco.
During her acceptance speech, Grace stressed the importance to preserve, remember, and teach. She stated, “Today, the enemy has shifted but the dynamics of racism, wartime hysteria, and failure of political leadership are the same…Embracing the final stage of the JLA struggle for redress will empower our community to contribute and lead in the struggles unfolding in our nation today.”
Day of Remembrance – February 19, 2017
San Francisco, CA
The 2017 Day of Remembrance “Fragile Freedoms – Carrying the Light for Justice” commemorated the 75th Anniversary of Executive Order 9066. Grace Shimizu spoke about the unfinished redress issues for the Japanese Latin Americans and provided an update on the upcoming IACHR hearing. During the candle lighting ceremony, Art Shibayama lit the first candle representing the Department of Justice internment camps.
CAMPAIGN FOR JUSTICE 