Jul 8th 2017

Led by American Studies scholar Dr. A. Naomi Paik (UIUC), this panel will address connections between Japanese American incarceration and the continuous history of vilification, imprisonment, and exclusion of targeted peoples. Panelists will include speakers Ryan Yokota (JASC – Japanese American Service Committee), Ninaj Raoul (Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees), Muhammad Sankari (Arab American Action Network) and Rodrigo Alonso Anzures-Oyorzabal(Organized Communities Against Deportations) with performance by Patricia Nguyen of Axis Lab.

**This is an ASL Interpreted Event.

ABOUT THEN THEY CAME FOR ME:
Then They Came for Me examines a dark episode in U.S. history when, in the name of national security, the government incarcerated 120,000 citizens and legal residents during World War II without due process and the constitutional protections to which they were entitled. Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, set in motion the forced removal and imprisonment of all people of Japanese ancestry (citizens and non-citizens alike) living on or near the West Coast. During this 75th anniversary year of Executive Order 9066, we look back at this shameful past to learn lessons for our present and future in the face of new challenges created by fearmongering and racism at the highest levels of government.

Then They Came for Me is steeped in Chicago history. Thousands of incarcerated persons resettled here after release from the camps, and they built a vibrant and rich Japanese American community in the Chicago area that lives on today. This Chicago story forms an important part of the exhibition and its message. Alphawood Gallery has partnered with the Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) and members of Chicago’s Japanese American community to produce Then They Came for Me. This important and timely exhibition will employ a wide range of photography, video, art and historical artifacts to provide multiple perspectives, engaging visitors in critical discussions of this story of injustice and its profound relevance today.

Then They Came For Me was organized in partnership with the JASC – Japanese American Service Committee.

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