In June 2019, Japanese American former incarcerees and their descendants gathered at Fort Sill, in Oklahoma, to protest the proposed separation of migrant children from their families and migrant detention more broadly. The site had previously served as an American Indian boarding school that forcibly assimilated and separated children from their families, an Apache prisoner of war camp, and a Japanese American internment camp run by the U.S. army during World War II.

Tsuru joined forces with United We Dream, Dream Action Oklahoma, Black Lives Matter, Indigenous Environmental Network, Women’s March Oklahoma, the American Indian Movement – Indian Territory, and others. Together, they succeeded in shutting down the site before it opened.

Among these protesters was Chizu Omori, former Poston incarceree and documentary filmmaker. Omori joins us with Mike Ishii, a Tsuru for Solidarity co-founder, to share how the history of Japanese American incarceration inspires their activism today. Christina Heatherton, assistant professor at Trinity College, will provide local context on Connecticut anti-racist organizing. Join us on Wednesday, February 23 at 2pm to commemorate Day of Remembrance, the anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 which enabled the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans.

This virtual vent will be held on Wednesday, February 23, at 2:00 PM. Please register in advance for this webinar.