My lesson  is aimed at my AP Government class and will be divided into two parts. I will teach it towards the end of the year, as part of our unit on Civil Liberties.

Part 1: How did this happen?

What government actions led to the incarceration of Japanese-American citizens? What social conditions led to this? What connections do we see to today?

In this section, students will review the timeline of government actions that led to incarceration (including land acts, the ABC lists, the obfuscation of Exec Order 9066, and censorship of documentation/photography) and analyze images and press/propaganda that reflect existing social perceptions and anti-Asian sentiment. They will look for continuing patterns that emerged after 9/11 and more recently in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Part 2: How do we keep it from happening again?

How do people resist government power and policy? How do people shift from bystanders to allies?

In this section, students will visit stations to learn about different types and methods of resistance. These sections will  include: Teachers/Librarians, Court Cases and Legal Advocates, Family to Family Help, and No-No Boys and the Heart Mountain Fair Play Committee.

At the end of this activity, students will work on a written reflection considering what they have learned from these examples of resistance.

This collection was made as part of a 2022 Landmarks of American History and Culture workshop “Little Tokyo: How History Shapes a Community Across Generations,” which has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this collection do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or the views of the workshop presenters/ host institution. #NEHLittleTokyo2022