Asian Pacific American Coalition hosts dialogue on reparations for Japanese Americans

Isaiah Steinberg/The Daily Northwestern SESP senior and APAC Communications Co-Chair Lily Ng said the term “internment” suggests someone is at fault for their imprisonment, while the term “incarceration” more closely describes the injustice of the treatment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Following the Day of Remembrance for Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II, more than a dozen Northwestern students gathered in Kresge Hall on Friday afternoon to examine the impact of reparations. Feb. 19, the Day of Remembrance, commemorates the day former President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 authorizing the imprisonment of Japanese Americans in concentration camps in 1942. This led to the removal of over 120,000 people of Japanese descent from their homes for being deemed a threat to “national security.” Japanese Americans received about $37 million in reparations from the Japanese American Evacuation Claims Act of 1948, and over 82,000 surviving citizens who were incarcerated received $20,000 each from the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. At Friday’s event, hosted by NU’s Asian Pacific American Coalition, students discussed the importance of reparations and reflecting on their Japanese American identities. SESP senior and APAC Communications Co-Chair Lily Ng led the dialogue with Weinberg sophomore and...