75 years after internment, librarians give voice to Japanese and Japanese American history
From an article in 探花视频 Today by Sam Linnerooth:
The hallways under 探花视频鈥檚 Norlin Library are lined with rows and rows of nondescript gray boxes. It鈥檚 not the most scenic spot on campus, but the university鈥檚 101 year-old archives can be a glimpse into different worlds and times.
Many of those gray boxes offer a window into the lives of Japanese and Japanese Americans on campus around World War II and Japanese incarceration in the United States.
奥丑颈濒别听University Libraries聽collections from this era are fairly comprehensive, there are gaps in the record. The CU Japanese and Japanese American Community History Project seeks to change that.
Adam Lisbon, Japanese and Korean studies librarian, and聽Megan Friedel, head of archives, embarked on the project in August. They鈥檙e conducting interviews, digitizing records and collecting new archival materials. By design, the project aligns with the 75th anniversary of President Franklin D. Roosevelt suspending Japanese incarceration in the United States.
鈥淲e鈥檙e using that as a jumping off point for talking about and collecting information about Japanese and Japanese American history on campus,鈥 said Friedel. 鈥淣ot just during World War II, but from the first Japanese American student to the present day.鈥
Lisbon taught English in Japan for four years before coming to 探花视频. In Colorado, he found community with others who shared a connection to the country, including Japanese and Japanese American groups.
He was quick to realize the potential for preserving more of that community鈥檚 history at 探花视频 and throughout the region. He remembers being concerned during conversations with Japanese American friends who had no specific plans for preserving family heirlooms.
Read the full article here.