Kent Chronicles

May 2012

Long History of Racism

• Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)

• California Alien Land Law of 1913 and 1920

• Immigration Act of 1924

The Japanese Community• Issei- 1st generation immigrants• Nisei- 2nd generation American citizens• Kibe- 2nd generation American citizens

Waves of Repression1. Leaders of the community were arrested.2. Every family was given a number.3. Every family was ordered to an assembly area.4. Eventually, the internees were moved to

permanent “relocation centers.”

Some Numbers

• 10 concentration camps• _____ Assembly Areas• 120,000 people of

Japanese Ancestry were interned

• 60% of those interned were American citizens.

Reasons for the Camps

• Military Necessity• Protect the Japanese

Americans from the mob

• Economic repression• Politics

1943 Questionnaire

Outcomes of the Questionnaire• No-No Boys– Tule Lake Segregation Center

• 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Combat Unit– Fought in Europe, mostly in

Italy– Recovered the Lost Battalion

Here in Kent

• Positive note– Kent High School had a graduation ceremony for

the Japanese seniors.• Negative note– Kent City Council publically stated that they didn’t

want the Japanese to come back after the war.