Tag Archives: Japanese American Internment during WWII

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) blog, Asian Americans, blog, diversity, LISTEN to Emil's PODCASTS, news, politics, race

Emil Guillermo: New Amok podcast, “Emil Amok’s Takeout,” on the kidnapping claims of the forgotten people of the Japanese Internment during WWII, Japanese from Latin America

You can call it “The Other Roundup.”
Art Shibayama will tell you exactly what it meant to him and why all Americans need to be ashamed.

Shibayama was just a 12-year-old boy in Lima,Peru. A Peruvian citizen.
His whole family was taken by the U.S. government and incarcerated in America.

If you don’t know about the Japanese Latin American part of the World War II internment story, you’re not alone.

When Executive Order 9066 cleared the way for the round-up of Japanese and Japanese Americans in the U.S. at the start of World War II, a different kind  of roundup was taking place in Latin America, especially Peru.

The U.S. government was taking Latin American citizens of Japanese descent, what the victims call kidnappings. Those taken were of all ages, and often, whole families were rounded-up. They were placed on U.S. ships and took a long boat ride to America.  They lived in camps like one set up in Crystal City, Texas.

Art Shibayama says they were kidnapped to provide the U.S. a supply of pawns to trade for U.S. GIs held by the Japanese.

His story on my podcast, “Emil Amok’s Takeout.”

Listen on-demand. Subscribe on iTunes and never miss an episode.

 

 

Use the player to access this episode and more:

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) blog, blog, diversity, LISTEN to Emil's PODCASTS, news, politics, race

Emil Guillermo’s Amok PODCAST: Todd Endo calls in from Selma about being at the 50th anniversary of the historic marches

Audio

toddendomarchingAsian American activist Todd Endo was in Selma 50 years ago, just as he  was at the march on Washington in 1963 to hear Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech.  (I took this photo of him at the 50th anniversary of that march in 2015).

This weekend, Endo called in from Selma where he attended the big anniversary of the marches there.  We talked about what he felt then and now,  about what he saw, and the Asian Americans at the event, including a Chinese American who was also at Selma in 1965.

ToddVincent_edited

CHECK OUT THE NEW HOME FOR THE AMOK COLUMN: www.aaldef.org/blog

LIKE  and FOLLOW us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/emilguillermo.media

And FOLLOW my latest tweets  on  Twitter    http://www.twitter.com/emilamok

 

 

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) blog, blog, news, politics, race

What can be done with the stroke of a pen? You can take away the rights of all Asian Americans of Japanese descent and clear the way for their internment: Feb. 19, 1942 — Executive Order 9066

Executive Order No. 9066

The President

Executive Order

Authorizing the Secretary of War to Prescribe Military Areas

Whereas the successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and against sabotage to national-defense material, national-defense premises, and national-defense utilities as defined in Section 4, Act of April 20, 1918, 40 Stat. 533, as amended by the Act of November 30, 1940, 54 Stat. 1220, and the Act of August 21, 1941, 55 Stat. 655 (U.S.C., Title 50, Sec. 104);

Now, therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War, and the Military Commanders whom he may from time to time designate, whenever he or any designated Commander deems such action necessary or desirable, to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded, and with respect to which, the right of any person to enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever restrictions the Secretary of War or the appropriate Military Commander may impose in his discretion. The Secretary of War is hereby authorized to provide for residents of any such area who are excluded therefrom, such transportation, food, shelter, and other accommodations as may be necessary, in the judgment of the Secretary of War or the said Military Commander, and until other arrangements are made, to accomplish the purpose of this order. The designation of military areas in any region or locality shall supersede designations of prohibited and restricted areas by the Attorney General under the Proclamations of December 7 and 8, 1941, and shall supersede the responsibility and authority of the Attorney General under the said Proclamations in respect of such prohibited and restricted areas.

I hereby further authorize and direct the Secretary of War and the said Military Commanders to take such other steps as he or the appropriate Military Commander may deem advisable to enforce compliance with the restrictions applicable to each Military area hereinabove authorized to be designated, including the use of Federal troops and other Federal Agencies, with authority to accept assistance of state and local agencies.

I hereby further authorize and direct all Executive Departments, independent establishments and other Federal Agencies, to assist the Secretary of War or the said Military Commanders in carrying out this Executive Order, including the furnishing of medical aid, hospitalization, food, clothing, transportation, use of land, shelter, and other supplies, equipment, utilities, facilities, and services.

This order shall not be construed as modifying or limiting in any way the authority heretofore granted under Executive Order No. 8972, dated December 12, 1941, nor shall it be construed as limiting or modifying the duty and responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with respect to the investigation of alleged acts of sabotage or the duty and responsibility of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice under the Proclamations of December 7 and 8, 1941, prescribing regulations for the conduct and control of alien enemies, except as such duty and responsibility is superseded by the designation of military areas hereunder.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

The White House,

February 19, 1942.

CHECK OUT THE NEW HOME FOR THE AMOK COLUMN: www.aaldef.org/blog

LIKE  and FOLLOW us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/emilguillermo.media

And FOLLOW  on  Twitter     http://www.twitter.com/emilamok

 

 

blog, diversity, news, politics, race

So you missed Fred T. Korematsu Day in California on Sunday? And you had the day off too. Here’s why all Americans should care: Have you been korematsued?

Who’s Fred T.Korematsu? If you know who Rosa Parks is, you should know Fred.

I’m coining a phrase to rival the Greek King Pyrrhus, who when prevailing after the Romans in 279 BC is said to have uttered, “Another such victory and we are surely undone.” Or something like that, my tape recorder wasn’t working that well in 279 BC.

So Pyrrhus had his victory. And so did Fred. I call it being “korematsued.”

As you may know, Fred is the man who stood up to the U.S. government’s internment order of Japanese Americans during WWII. He fought the order and had his conviction was overturned.  A victory? Not 100 percent. 

He was korematsued. And that’s why we all need to care about him and his story to this day.

Find out more by reading my Amok column at  www.aaldef.org/blog