Description
In this dramatic and page-turning narrative history of Japanese Americans before, during, and after their World War II incarceration, Susan H. Kamei weaves the voices of over 130 individuals who lived through this tragic episode, most of them as young adults.
It's difficult to believe it happened here, in the Land of the Free: After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the United States government forcibly removed more than 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry from the Pacific Coast and imprisoned them in desolate detention camps until the end of World War II just because of their race.
In what Secretary Norman Y. Mineta describes as a "landmark book," he and others who lived through this harrowing experience tell the story of their incarceration and the long-term impact of this dark period in American history. For the first time, why and how these tragic events took place are interwoven with more than 130 individual voices of those who were unconstitutionally incarcerated, many of them children and young adults.
Now more than ever, their words will resonate with readers who are confronting questions about racial identity, immigration, and citizenship, and what it means to be an American.
About the Author
Susan H. Kamei received her JD from the Georgetown University Law Center. She teaches at the University of Southern California on the legal ramifications of the incarceration of persons of Japanese ancestry during World War II and how they apply to constitutional issues, civil liberties, and national security considerations today.
Norman Y. Mineta and his family spent the years during World War II incarcerated at the Santa Anita Assembly Center and the Heart Mountain Relocation Center. He served the city of San Jose, California, from 1967 to 1974 as a city council member and as its mayor, and went on to represent California's Thirteenth Congressional District in the US House of Representatives from 1974 to 1995. As a member of Congress, Mineta served as chairman of the US House Committee on Public Works and Transportation from 1992 to 1994 and chaired the subcommittees on aviation and surface transportation. In 2000, President Bill Clinton appointed Mineta as US Secretary of Commerce, making him the first Asian American to become a member of a presidential cabinet. In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed him as US Secretary of Transportation, where he served until 2006. The numerous awards he has received in recognition of his leadership include the Presidential Medal of Freedom-the highest civilian honor in the United States-and the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy, awarded for significant public service of enduring value to aviation in the United States. His many civic roles include serving as the chairman of the board of trustees of the Japanese American National Museum.
Reviews
In When Can We Go Back to America?, Susan Kamei relates the whole range of Japanese American experiences during World War II-from the camps to the courtrooms, from the soldiers of the segregated 442nd Regimental Combat Team to the draft resisters-restoring a much-needed sense of agency to people who triumphed over prejudice during a period of nationwide fear. At a time when Asian Americans face new threats in their own homeland, When Can We Go Back to America? is a bracing reminder of the challenges facing minorities-and their hard-earned successes. -- Robert Asahina * author of Just Americans: How Japanese Americans Won a War at Home and Abroad *
When Can We Go Back to America? is spell-binding tour de force that illuminates the heart-wrenching reality of lives forever changed by a national atrocity of inhumane proportions. In drawing upon first-hand accounts of those incarcerated, Kamei has created a moving record that shows the consequences of unchecked political power. For those examining the case for reparations for Black American descendants of slavery in the United States, some events are frighteningly familiar-denying a disfavored group the right to own property or vote, rounding up innocent unsuspecting people at gunpoint and rendering them homeless, and confiscating and appropriating their property. The hitherto untold stories of confusion, disbelief, frustration, anger, protest, and resolve provide a legacy of inspiration for current and future generations. They also serve as a warning of what can happen when racism and hysteria drive our nation's thinking instead of justice. -- A. Kirsten Mullen and William A. Darity Jr. * authors of From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-first Century *
The incarceration of 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry is often characterized as a tragic "mistake" arising from wartime hysteria. Susan Kamei's absorbing page-turner reveals that what happened was no mistake-the reasons asserted to justify forcing these Americans at gunpoint into concentration camps were entirely made up-and the government knew it at the time. She deftly synthesizes crisp historical narrative with powerful first-person accounts to illustrate the perils to democracy when "alternative facts" hold sway over the real ones. Despite being unjustly targeted, the voices of incarcerated Japanese Americans show their unwavering faith in America, and their stories provide important lessons for our country's present and its future. -- Donald K. Tamaki * 2020 American Bar Association Spirit of Excellence Award winner *
A tour de force account of the Japanese American incarceration experience during WWII from the perspective of those who lived through forced removal, indefinite confinement, unjust deportation, and in some cases, family separation. With scholarly precision and a compelling narrative, When Can We Go Back to America? is a must read for anyone interested in America's legacy of racial exclusion and the nation's struggle to perfect the union. -- Duncan Ryuken Williams * author of American Sutra: A Story of Faith and Freedom in the Second World War *
When Can We Go Back to America? provides readers with an immersive look at the experience of Japanese incarceration during World War II. Teeming with first-hand accounts of both the experience in the camps and the fight over what incarceration did and should mean to the American nation as a whole, Susan Kamei's book is an invaluable resource for any related history course. In addition, thanks to the richness of the material captured in a single volume, the text is brimming with opportunities to teach critical thinking skills suitable for any History or English course. -- Jason LaBau * Waterford School, Sandy, Utah *
The voices of the incarcerated Japanese Americans in When Can We Go Back to America? pack a gut-wrenching punch. Their raw emotions force the reader to step back and consider what it is like to be imprisoned by the US government for an indeterminate amount of time without regard to one's innocence. The power of their stories compel us to face up to our country's past, a necessary step towards having a more just society today and in the future. -- Ronald K. Ikejiri * attorney and former Washington, DC representative of the Japanese American Citizens League *
"Riveting and indispensable...This landmark historical account shines a light on a part of American history that must be remembered." -- KIRKUS REVIEWS, STARRED REVIEW
"A truly remarkable, comprehensive resource with an emphasis on allyship, indispensable for researchers and any resistor of injustice." -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, STARRED REVIEW
"Filled with over a 100 alphabetically organized, detailed biographies of those who shared their experiences, Kamei's narrative nonfiction work dives deeply into what it means to be American, then and always." -- School Library Journal, starred review
"Kamei has created a resonating-and essential-read." -- Booklist, starred review
Book Information
ISBN 9781481401449
Author Susan H. Kamei
Format Hardback
Page Count 736
Imprint Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publisher Simon & Schuster
Weight(grams) 907g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 56mm
It's difficult to believe it happened here, in the Land of the Free: After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the United States government forcibly removed more than 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry from the Pacific Coast and imprisoned them in desolate detention camps until the end of World War II just because of their race.
In what Secretary Norman Y. Mineta describes as a "landmark book," he and others who lived through this harrowing experience tell the story of their incarceration and the long-term impact of this dark period in American history. For the first time, why and how these tragic events took place are interwoven with more than 130 individual voices of those who were unconstitutionally incarcerated, many of them children and young adults.
Now more than ever, their words will resonate with readers who are confronting questions about racial identity, immigration, and citizenship, and what it means to be an American.
About the Author
Susan H. Kamei received her JD from the Georgetown University Law Center. She teaches at the University of Southern California on the legal ramifications of the incarceration of persons of Japanese ancestry during World War II and how they apply to constitutional issues, civil liberties, and national security considerations today.
Norman Y. Mineta and his family spent the years during World War II incarcerated at the Santa Anita Assembly Center and the Heart Mountain Relocation Center. He served the city of San Jose, California, from 1967 to 1974 as a city council member and as its mayor, and went on to represent California's Thirteenth Congressional District in the US House of Representatives from 1974 to 1995. As a member of Congress, Mineta served as chairman of the US House Committee on Public Works and Transportation from 1992 to 1994 and chaired the subcommittees on aviation and surface transportation. In 2000, President Bill Clinton appointed Mineta as US Secretary of Commerce, making him the first Asian American to become a member of a presidential cabinet. In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed him as US Secretary of Transportation, where he served until 2006. The numerous awards he has received in recognition of his leadership include the Presidential Medal of Freedom-the highest civilian honor in the United States-and the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy, awarded for significant public service of enduring value to aviation in the United States. His many civic roles include serving as the chairman of the board of trustees of the Japanese American National Museum.
Reviews
In When Can We Go Back to America?, Susan Kamei relates the whole range of Japanese American experiences during World War II-from the camps to the courtrooms, from the soldiers of the segregated 442nd Regimental Combat Team to the draft resisters-restoring a much-needed sense of agency to people who triumphed over prejudice during a period of nationwide fear. At a time when Asian Americans face new threats in their own homeland, When Can We Go Back to America? is a bracing reminder of the challenges facing minorities-and their hard-earned successes. -- Robert Asahina * author of Just Americans: How Japanese Americans Won a War at Home and Abroad *
When Can We Go Back to America? is spell-binding tour de force that illuminates the heart-wrenching reality of lives forever changed by a national atrocity of inhumane proportions. In drawing upon first-hand accounts of those incarcerated, Kamei has created a moving record that shows the consequences of unchecked political power. For those examining the case for reparations for Black American descendants of slavery in the United States, some events are frighteningly familiar-denying a disfavored group the right to own property or vote, rounding up innocent unsuspecting people at gunpoint and rendering them homeless, and confiscating and appropriating their property. The hitherto untold stories of confusion, disbelief, frustration, anger, protest, and resolve provide a legacy of inspiration for current and future generations. They also serve as a warning of what can happen when racism and hysteria drive our nation's thinking instead of justice. -- A. Kirsten Mullen and William A. Darity Jr. * authors of From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-first Century *
The incarceration of 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry is often characterized as a tragic "mistake" arising from wartime hysteria. Susan Kamei's absorbing page-turner reveals that what happened was no mistake-the reasons asserted to justify forcing these Americans at gunpoint into concentration camps were entirely made up-and the government knew it at the time. She deftly synthesizes crisp historical narrative with powerful first-person accounts to illustrate the perils to democracy when "alternative facts" hold sway over the real ones. Despite being unjustly targeted, the voices of incarcerated Japanese Americans show their unwavering faith in America, and their stories provide important lessons for our country's present and its future. -- Donald K. Tamaki * 2020 American Bar Association Spirit of Excellence Award winner *
A tour de force account of the Japanese American incarceration experience during WWII from the perspective of those who lived through forced removal, indefinite confinement, unjust deportation, and in some cases, family separation. With scholarly precision and a compelling narrative, When Can We Go Back to America? is a must read for anyone interested in America's legacy of racial exclusion and the nation's struggle to perfect the union. -- Duncan Ryuken Williams * author of American Sutra: A Story of Faith and Freedom in the Second World War *
When Can We Go Back to America? provides readers with an immersive look at the experience of Japanese incarceration during World War II. Teeming with first-hand accounts of both the experience in the camps and the fight over what incarceration did and should mean to the American nation as a whole, Susan Kamei's book is an invaluable resource for any related history course. In addition, thanks to the richness of the material captured in a single volume, the text is brimming with opportunities to teach critical thinking skills suitable for any History or English course. -- Jason LaBau * Waterford School, Sandy, Utah *
The voices of the incarcerated Japanese Americans in When Can We Go Back to America? pack a gut-wrenching punch. Their raw emotions force the reader to step back and consider what it is like to be imprisoned by the US government for an indeterminate amount of time without regard to one's innocence. The power of their stories compel us to face up to our country's past, a necessary step towards having a more just society today and in the future. -- Ronald K. Ikejiri * attorney and former Washington, DC representative of the Japanese American Citizens League *
"Riveting and indispensable...This landmark historical account shines a light on a part of American history that must be remembered." -- KIRKUS REVIEWS, STARRED REVIEW
"A truly remarkable, comprehensive resource with an emphasis on allyship, indispensable for researchers and any resistor of injustice." -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, STARRED REVIEW
"Filled with over a 100 alphabetically organized, detailed biographies of those who shared their experiences, Kamei's narrative nonfiction work dives deeply into what it means to be American, then and always." -- School Library Journal, starred review
"Kamei has created a resonating-and essential-read." -- Booklist, starred review
Book Information
ISBN 9781481401449
Author Susan H. Kamei
Format Hardback
Page Count 736
Imprint Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publisher Simon & Schuster
Weight(grams) 907g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 56mm
