The ABC Unified School District held its fifth annual Day of Remembrance programs this month to mark the 82ndanniversary of Executive Order 9066.
As part of the official curriculum, students heard from local Japanese Americans who experienced the mass roundup and incarceration in 1942.
On Feb. 7 at Artesia High School in Lakewood, the presenters were Mike Hatchimonji, Grace Hatchimonji, and Dr. Takashi Hoshizaki; at Tetzlaff Middle School in Cerritos, the presenters were Joyce Okazaki and Esther Taira.
On Feb. 8 at Fedde Middle School in Hawaiian Gardens, the presenters were Hal Keimi and Richard Murakami; at Tracy High School in Cerritos, the presenters were Mike Hatchimonji, Grace Hatchimonji and Esther Taira.
Participating dignitaries included Joe Pak, senior field representative for Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva; Arlene Inouye, UCLA Asian American Studies Center; Dr. Olga Rios, ABC USD trustee; Artesia City Councilmember Monica Manalo; and Cerritos City Councilmember Frank Aurelio Yokoyama.
On Feb. 16, a virtual assembly for 5th-graders at all elementary schools in the district was held. ABC devoted teacher professional development as well as purchasing various age-appropriate books to prepare the students for the experience. “Baseball Saved Us” by Ken Mochizuki, “Fish for Jimmy” by Katie Yamasaki, and “The Bracelet” by Yoshiko Uchida each detailed a particular aspect of the incarceration experience so that students came prepared.
Presenters Tak Hoshizaki, June Aochi Berk, Hal Keimi, Joyce Okazaki, Richard Murakami, and Esther Taira presented their diverse camp lives, including stories about stinky horse stables, camp baseball and even introducing the Japanese word gaman(enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity).
“You’re never too old to make a difference and tell your story,”said ABC USD Vice President Ernie Nishii, originator of the district’s Day of Remembrance activities. “Mike and Grace at 96 years young: Mike described 0 degrees at Heart Mountain while Grace relived 110-degree heat of Poston, Arizona. Tak is 100 and at 17 years had the guts to ask for his family to be freed. We need to make more people like that.”
Dr. Hoshizaki was one of the resisters at Heart Mountain in Wyoming who refused to submit to the draft unless their families’ rights as U.S. citizens were restored.
“My dad Tom and I attended the Day of Remembrance assemblies at Tracy High School and Fedde Middle School on Feb. 8,” said Yokoyama. “The students listened to the stories of the Japanese American survivors of the American concentration camps created by the signing of Executive Order 9066 during World War II. I was proud of my dad for sharing his story of being a little boy with his family in the concentration camps.
“Thank you to the speakers for sharing your memories with us. Special thanks to Ernie Nishii for organizing this Day of Remembrance in our ABC Schools; the committee, Janet Fujii, Jason Fujii, Jenny Chomori, Kyoko Oda, and Kay Oda; the drivers, Colleen Miyano and Carrie Morita; and the ABC School District team.”
The community served by ABC USD includes the cities of Artesia, Cerritos, and Hawaiian Gardens, as well as portions of Lakewood, Long Beach, and Norwalk.