Vindication, Healing, and the Legacy of Justice

Vindication, Healing, and the Legacy of Justice. A Brief History of Japanese Americans In Seattle…. , The 1980s saw a growing movement to secure justice for Japanese Americans who had been incarcerated during world war two. Along with the campaign for redress came efforts to overturn the wartime cases of Gordon Hirabayashi, Fred Korematsu, and Minoru Yasui. Armed with newly discovered evidence that the government had lied about the security risk posed by Japanese Americans, legal teams filed coram nobis petitions requesting that the three wartime cases be re-opened. In 1987, Gordon Hirabayashi’s convictions were vacated, giving further momentum to the redress movement. In 1990 the government issued a formal apology to the Japanese American community and began to distribute financial reperations to those who had been incarcerated., These vindications have helped Japanese Americans begin to heal from the traumatic events of world war two. As part of that healing, the community has committed to making sure the story of the incarceration is not forgotten. These efforts include education programs, artistic works, public events, and advocacy on behalf of others whose civil liberties are threatened. Gordon Hirabayashi’s legacy of justice runs through it all., [Captions:] , Gordon Hirabayashi with his legal team, June 1985. Photo by Stan Shikuma, courtesy of University of Washington., Actor Ryun Yu performs “Hold These Truths,” Jeanne Sakata’s one-man play about Gordon Hirabayashi, at ACT Theater, 2015. The play has been performed across the U.S. since 2007. Photo courtesy of Chris Bennion., Minidoka Pilgrimage 2015 group photo including 3 generations of Japanese Americans, plus families, friends, and advocates. The annual Minidoka Pilgrimage includes tours of the Minidoka National Historic Site, intergenerational programs, and a commemorative ceremony. Courtesy of the Minidoka Pilgrimage Planning Committee., Gordon Hirabayashi at a conference in Japan, 1988. Courtesy of University of Washington., Youth learning about the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans from a Nisei elder who experienced it. Kirie (Japanese paper cut) image by Aki Sogabe.,