First Day of Remembrance Remembered
November 25, 1978, marked the first “Day of Remembrance” event. Seattle activists organized the Evacuation Redress Committee in the early 1970s as a grassroots organization that sought individual reparations for the World War II confinement of Japanese Americans. Then, in 1978, the Evacuation Redress Committee organized the first “Day of Remembrance.” Over thirty organizations, churches, and veterans groups sponsored the activities. Organizers, most notably Frank Chin, planned speeches, performances, and a community potluck dinner. However, perhaps the most poignant part of the event included a symbolic reenactment of Japanese Americans arriving at the Puyallup Fairgrounds, nicknamed “Camp Harmony,” which incarcerated Nikkei from Seattle before the WRA transported them to Minidoka.
Caravan of vehicles at Puyallup
After 1978, other cities began hosting annual Day of Remembrance events on or around February 19th to commemorate and acknowledge the signing of Executive Order 9066. Throughout the Redress Movement in the 1970s through the 1980s, Day of Remembrance events sought to achieve redress through reconciliation with incarceration, and a public display of community for others to recognize that the removal did not end when the war did, but rather caused generational trauma. Day of Remembrance events remain rooted in the relevance of the lessons and legacies of Executive Order 9066 in today’s world.
Idaho’s Day of Remembrance remains the longest-running statehouse ceremony to include an official proclamation from the governor. In 2022, President Biden also declared February 19, 2022 as the National Day of Remembrance of Japanese American Incarceration During World War II.
Look for Day of Remembrance commemorations in your own community. How can you continue to remember and promote the legacies and lessons of EO 9066 in your community?