Redress Movement

Return to Japanese Internment in WWII =Redress Movement= The Redress movement consisted of Japanese Americans and other interested and invested citizens who fought to get government acknowledgement that the internment of Japanese Americans was an act of racial discrimination and injustice.

This video depicts the beginning of political discussion about a redress bill, and testimonies "that shook up" the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians: http://www.5min.com/Video/Japanese-Americans-Post-WWII--Perusing-Recognition-300993888

Leaving the Camps
The detainees "were really starting from scratch," as they left the camps and tried to find jobs and homes again. This is a great video with clips of individual accounts of "resettlers:" http://www.5min.com/Video/Japanese-Americans-Post-WWII--First-Steps-300993806

Japanese American Citizens League
The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) was formed in 1929, with the mission: "The Japanese American Citizens League is a national organization whose ongoing mission is to secure and maintain the civil rights of Japanese Americans and all others who are victimized by injustice and bigotry. The leaders and members of the JACL also work to promote cultural, educational and social values and preserve the heritage and legacy of the Japanese American community. "

When the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians held hearings for witnesses of the internments, the JACL assisted in teh preparation of witnesses and their testimonies.

The JACL also produced a movie called "A Lesson in Japanese American History: The Japanese American Experience," a clip of which is shown here: clg4DUdA354

Video courtesy of YouTube account kamisugi.

"About the Japanese American Citizens League Website." Japanese American Citizens League Website. Web. 27 Oct. 2010. .

Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians
In reaction to the injustice of the internment camps, the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) was created to study the actions of the United States government relevant to the internment of Japanese Americans. The commission was assembled to determine whether or not an injustice had been done, and if so, what compentation should be given for the injustice.

Specifically, it's purposes were to: "1. review the facts and circumstances surrounding Executive Order Numbered 9066, issued February 19, 1942, and the impact of such Executive Order on American citizens and permanent resident aliens; 2. review directives of United States military forces requiring the relocation and, in some cases, detention in internment camps of American citizens, including Aleut civilians, and permanent resident aliens of the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands; and 3. recommend appropriate remedies."

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Video courtesy of YouTube account NCRRLA.

Japanese American detainees asked for financial compensation for the time they spent in the camps. Originally, they wanted $25,000 per detainee, but were given $20,000 instead: tF8c1SIRGZk&feature=related

Video courtesy of YouTube account NCRRLA.

The CWRIC found that "“The promulgation of Executive Order 9066 was not justified by military necessity, and the decisions which followed from it…were not driven by analysis of military conditions. The broad historical causes which shaped these decisions were race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership. Widespread ignorance of Japanese Americans contributed to a policy conceived in haste and executed in an atmosphere of fear and anger at Japan. A grave injustice was done to Americans and resident aliens of Japanese ancestry who…were excluded, removed and detained by the United States during World War II.” The report recommends, among other things, that Congress apologize to the evacuees and that the United States make a tax-free payment of $20,000 to each surviving evacuee."

This is a recording with images of the commission, voicing the findings of the CWRIC: CBTM-eBAUOo&feature=related

Video courtesy of YouTube account NCRRLA.

Personal Justice Denied: Report of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians. Washington, D.C., 1982. On-line Book.

"The War Relocation Authority and The Incarceration of Japanese-Americans During World War II: 1983." Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. Web. 27 Oct. 2010. <http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/japanese_internment/1976.htm