Join us on Monday 15th at 3:00 pm in the Sterling Memorial Library Lecture Hall for "Loyal Citizens, Prisoners of War": America's Concentration Camps – an illustrated talk given in conjunction with the Out of the Desert exhibit, currently on view in the SML Memorabilia Room. A coffee reception will be held just before the talk. This talk is part of the week long series of "Remembrance Day" events.
Vi Takahashi was a young teenager living in Seattle, Washington, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Her father was arrested the night of Pearl Harbor and imprisoned in Ft. Missoula, Montana. Her husband lived in El Centro, California. This talk recounts their experiences during that stressful time when 120,000 Japanese, 70% of whom were American citizens, were classified as the "enemy", the fear being they were a military danger. They were forced into concentration camps built in the desert and on swamp lands. In total there were ten camps and each member of the family was allowed to take one duffle bag of belongings.