Why Does it Matter?



Japanese-Americans in California were not only deprived of their liberty and livelihoods for nearly four years as a result of Executive Order 9066, they also, in many cases, lost their property. The radical changes that occurred to their livelihoods as a result of this can be viewed through a critical lens that sheds light on some of the issues of race today.

What comes in conjunction with a loss in property is a loss in opportunity. Land is the most valuable commodity there is. There's a reason why land is the most legislated issue that state and local governments have to deal with; it's where the power lies. The issei gained a heretofore unprecedented amount of power through their ability to turn marginal land productive, even if they often stayed aloof from state politics. Thus, the pressure on Roosevelt to sign Executive Order 9066, as well as the efforts by the California Preservation Association to prevent them from repurchasing their land post-war, can be viewed as an attempt to stomp out those powers.

The ability for the Nisei community to rebrand themselves, to move themselves forwards away from their agricultural past, is nothing short of extraordinary. Yet, the driving factors behind these changes are clear for all to see. Education. The Gentleman's Agreement of 1907 resulted in localized desegregation of schools for Japanese-Americans in California, including higher education. Nisei, egged on by their parents, took advantage of this to gain skills that couldn't be taken away during the years of internment. Following their release, despite the loss of their properties, educated nisei could turn their education and take advantage of the post-war boom economy.

When we look at Japanese-Americans as a model minority, it is easy to discount the pressures and distinct background of their community. It wasn't until 1947, following Mendez v. Westminster, that the Anderson Bill was signed, enforcing public school desegregation throughout California. While the Nisei were able to enter the University of California system, blacks could only attend those institutions that accepted them: mostly agricultural, historically black colleges, which conferred diplomas that employers in the professional domain would scoff at. Those intervening forty years were crucial in defining the Nisei generation.

What is to be gathered here is that of the sheer magnitude of what was taken away in the process of Japanese internment, and simultaneously, the boon that this jumpstart in education has provided them. It is what enabled them to come out of the post-war era with hope rather than bitterness. As we ruminate on how to deal with inequity and all the social ills that we all too often tolerate, we should never forget the first steps.

Philo Wong 2023.