Portland JACL Newsletter: February 2012 Issue
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Co-President’s Message by Susan Leedham

Upcoming Day of Remembrance

February 19 is the 70th anniversary of President Franklin Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 9066 ordering the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans living on the West Coast.

This year we will hear the remembrances of those who were relocated far from home behind barbed wire in places like Minidoka, Idaho, and forced to live in cramped quarters for the duration of the war. Professor Linda Tamura will moderate a panel of former internees, and we will also invite those in the audience to share their stories. All former internees in attendance will receive a commemorative pin in recognition of their sacrifice. The Minidoka Swing Band will help set the mood with music from that era, so please join us for Day of Remembrance on Sunday, February 19, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Portland State University, Hoffmann Hall.

There is free parking available in the parking structure on the left side of 12th Avenue before Market Street. To get to Hoffmann Hall from the parking structure, cross the street and walk past a not-free-parking structure and then turn right at the first walkway. Hoffmann Hall is the third, or last, building on the right.

Day of Remembrance is just one of the events Portland JACL does every year. For the next two years Jean Yamamoto and I will serve as co-presidents. It is a daunting task, and we would urge all of you to help us with suggestions and maybe even volunteering to help.

We live in a time where civil discourse is absent. We seem to be so invested in our viewpoints that we don’t even want to hear those of others. Our behavior seems to be guided by fear. For some, it’s fear of big government taking over. For others it’s Islamic extremists attacking our country. And there are others that fear the power of multi-national corporations and the 1% having too much power. Fear of the unknown lead to Executive Order 9066.

We all need to work to keep the dialogue open and civil and develop relationships and build community so we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past.

2012 JACL Day Of Remembrance

Join us

Sunday, February 19, 2012, 2:00 – 4:00P
Hoffman Hall, Portland State University

Free admission to the public

70th Anniversary of the signing of the
February 19, 1942
Executive Order 9066

Seventy years ago, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which sent over 120,000 Americans of Japanese Ancestry to American Concentration Camps. Join us as we honor those whoselives were affected by the order and those Nikkei warriors who fought for their country.

Panel Discussion Moderated by Linda Tamura
Performance by the Minidoka Swing Band
Special Presentation to former internees attending

Free admission to the public