"[T]he American public is still largely uninformed" about the WWII imprisonment of more than 110,000 Japanese-Americans, says Harth, a professor of humanities and women's studies at Brandeis University. Harth, who spent a childhood year at the Manzanar camp (where her mother worked as an anthropologist for the War Relocation Authority), presents essays by former internees, other, non-Asian residents and descendants of internees that explore this shameful episode in American history. Interned with their parents and siblings, Toyo Suyemoto and Mitsuye Yamada offer gaman, or the "ability to bear the almost unbearable," as an explanation for their generation's long-held silence. Jeni Yamada, Mitsuye's oldest daughter, writes about how in marrying a Jew she became entrenched in a culture that is open about past wrongs, and psychologist Donna K. Nagata emphasizes that ongoing discussion is critical for healing. Stewart David Ikeda lyrically describes his insatiable curiosity about his dying grandfather's camp experiences. Activists John Tateishi, national executive director of the Japanese American Citizens League, and Sue Kunitomi Embrey, founder of the Manzanar Committee, describe the view still held by many Americans that Japanese-Americans are the enemy. What is ultimately at stake, Harth reiterates, is the significance of this incarceration for all Americans. Like contributor Allan Wesley Austin, a specialist in Japanese-American internment, Harth is adamant that the government's repeal of the Internal Security Act may not protect groups of Americans from being denied civil rights in the future; only a judicial decree that such an act is unconstitutional will suffice. The treatment of Japanese-Americans resonates especially strongly since September 11, as public figures like Warren Christopher warn against repeating such mistakes with Muslim-Americans. Photos and illus. (Nov. 7)
