February 19, 1942, is the day President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, leading to the forced removal of almost 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast of the United States — most of them U.S. citizens — from their homes and into federal detention camps. In the aftermath of the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Imperial Japanese Navy and the United States’ declaration of war with Japan, these persons were deemed a threat to national security.
The Day of Remembrance is now an annual event held in cities across the country to keep the memory of this great injustice alive and to honor those who were impacted by this action of the US government.
In Juneau, the Juneau-Douglas City Museum has on display at the Mendenhall Valley Library a portion of their 2014 exhibit “The Empty Chair: The Forced Removal and Relocation of Juneau’s Japanese, 1941-1951,” which was mounted in conjunction with the installation of the Empty Chair Memorial at Capital School Park. On Friday, Feb. 19, the Museum and the Public Library will host a remembrance event beginning at 5:30 pm in the Mendenhall Valley Library’s meeting room. Local filmmaker Greg Chaney’s documentary, “The Empty Chair,” about how Japanese Americans from Juneau were sent to prison camps during WWII and how our community stood in quiet defiance against the internment of these American citizens, will be shown. After a short break for conversation and refreshment, a selection of stories, images and objects from the Museum exhibit and the memorial dedication will be shared in slide-lecture format. The program will conclude at 7:30 pm.
More information about Juneau’s Empty Chair Memorial can be found at emptychairproject.wordpress.com and a virtual version of the Museum’s exhibit can be found through their website, juneau.org/museum/virtual_exhibits.php.
For more information about the City Museum, visit: www.juneau.org/museum or call 586-3572.
