February 19th is the Day of Remembrance, a date during which people, particularly those with Japanese-American heritage, remember Executive Order 9066. Signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, it authorized the building of incarceration camps into which 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry were forced to live. The vast majority of them lost their farms, homes, everything.

My mother, who was a 4th to 6th grade girl at the time, was forced to live with her family for one year at Tule Lake, and two years at Heart Mountain – except for my uncles who served in the U.S. Armed Forces.

I continue to update a blog entry on the subject with links to photos, videos, and other resources.

Next Monday, February 24th, I will be giving a free talk at the Kennedy School in Portland. I encourage everyone who can attend to please come!