Thread by @prof_ishimaru

Today is 80th anniv of the US exec order that incarcerated my whole family & 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent. THIS WK, I was shocked to discover that a BIPOC equity-focused critical scholar didn't know ab Japanese American resistance & reparations. A 🧵... 1/

As a kid every yr, thx to my mom, I taught my class ab WWII incarceration of JAs bc it was never in the curriculum. This is my dad & his parents on the CO River Indian Reservation in AZ, aka the Poston camp. Their smiles belie the racist injustice that devastated their lives. 2/

But there was a WHOLE ASS resistance & redress mvmt that (apparently) many don't know ab - led by young JAs.

No-No boys & Tule Lake incarcerees resisted during the war, Gordon Hirabayashi (a student @UW!), Mitsuye Endo & others sent cases to SCOTUS. 2/ densho.org/catalyst/mitsu…

Women & men wrote resistance in the camps & after, too. Mira Shimabukuro argues "gaman" wasn't just passive acceptance but also resistance AND futurity. Relocating Authority: Japanese Americans Writing to Redress Mass Incarceration:
upcolorado.com/university-pre… 4/

The mvmt for reparations emerged fr the civil rights mvmt, Black power, fights for ethnic studies in 60s & 70s. It was central to the Asian American movement. A whole generation of sansei (2nd gen born here, 3rd gen Amer - my parents' gen) led the way: aaww.org/asian-american… 5/

Yuri Kochiyama fought for reparations, then became a parent organizer in Harlem, became friends with Malcolm X, & continued to lead solidarity mvmts for decades:
zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/yuri…

Taiko (Japanese word for drum) emerged from 60s/70s as a symbol of loud & proud cultural, artistic & political voice. Susan Hayase was my 1st taiko teacher & continues to lead JA community justice work (w/many others!). 6/

I'm old enough to dimly recall reparations in 1988! Not w/o a fight, of course (white lady grabbing papers at hearing). $20K per survivor after many had passed & more symbolic than substantive, but it recognized US gov't wrongs & set precedent:
nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/r… 7/

So here's where critical scholars may not know some connections to the (totally incomplete) history I've shared. One of the "mothers" of #CRT @mari_matsuda pointed to JA redress as an example of "looking to
the bottom to develop a theory of reparations." Sound familiar? 8/

"The prolific Professor Mari Matsuda has ...used Critical Race Theory. She is not only one of its most powerful practitioners, but is among a handful of legal scholars credited with its origin." (& she wasn't the only JA!) 9/ reappropriate.co/2021/03/mari-m…

Groups like @TsuruSolidarity & local JACL chapters continue the fight for justice: against child separation & incarceration and in support of African American reparations. 10/
vimeo.com/499399227

I'm NOT a historian - despite growing up as a child/grandchild of these legacies, I only recently discovered how much my work rests on the shoulders of the giants who RESISTED, persisted, marched, created, theorized, wrote, & DREAMED free futures for all of us. 🔥🔥♥️🙏11/

And gratitude to those who are keeping these histories alive & continuing the work. #KnowYourHistory #Solidarities @DenshoProject @jamuseum @winglukemuseum @JAMOpdx @PostonPreserve @minidokapilgrim @TsuruSolidarity End 🧵.
jacl.org/events/2022-po…

#EO9066 #DayofRemembrance