In commemoration of the World War II atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, which occurred on August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively, the Japanese American National Museum is featuring special exhibits, events and programs.

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) in Japan commemorates the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (photo courtesy of Jakub Halun)

A program based on Yoko Ono’s “Imagine Peace Wish Tree” invites participants to write personal wishes for peace that are tied to a tree in the museum through the end of today, Aug. 9. The wishes will be collected and mailed to the Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland, Ono’s ongoing art project where wishes from around the world are collected and stored.

Additionally, the museum is currently commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. Expanded exhibitions explore social justice, due process and the role of Japanese American World War II veterans in the redress movement.

The landmark Civil Liberties Act of 1988, signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on Aug. 10, 1988, provided a formal government apology and monetary reparations to survivors among the approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans incarcerated without due process during World War II. The museum’s “Common Ground: The Heart of Community” exhibit chronicles more than 130 years of Japanese American history and features a newly expanded final section that further explores the unprecedented social and political campaign for the Civil Liberties Act and the historic accomplishments of the redress movement.

As part of the opening celebration, two original pages of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, on loan from the National Archives in Washington, D.C., will be on display through Sept. 23. They include the page with the signatures of President Reagan, Representative Norman Y. Mineta and Sen. Spark Matsunaga.

Additionally, a complementary exhibition, “H.R. 442: Nisei Veterans and the Fight for Civil Liberties,” runs through Sept. 16. It explores the role of Japanese American World War II veterans in the fight for redress. Despite rampant discrimination and the incarceration of many of the soldiers’ families, the Nisei veterans’ selfless bravery became the moral foundation upon which the redress movement was built.

The special “H.R. 442” exhibition is included with pay-what-you-wish admission to the Go For Broke National Education Center’s “Defining Courage” exhibition located in the historic Nishi Hongwanji building (now Japanese American National Museum’s historic building) at 355 E. First St., downtown. For information, visit goforbroke.org.

On Friday, Aug. 10 – the anniversary of the actual signing date of the act – the Japanese American National Museum will host an afternoon of reunion, reconnection and reaffirmation of its commitment to democracy and justice. Japanese American National Museum president and CEO Ann Burroughs, Go For Broke National Education Center president Mitchell T. Maki and an additional special guest will speak. Attendees will have the opportunity to pledge their ongoing personal commitments to civil liberties by signing a commitment banner. RSVPs are strongly encouraged by visiting janm.org.

“Thirty years after the historic achievement of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, the United States government is once again engaging in deeply unfair and discriminatory practices. But unlike the 1940s, when virtually no one stood up against the government’s reprehensible treatment of Japanese Americans, today JANM and others across the country are standing with those who are now the targets of prejudice, discrimination and exclusion,” Burroughs said. “Our commemoration of the Civil Liberties Act in August is the prime opportunity to remind the American people and our leaders of the grave injustices of the 1940s and of how easily the tragic lessons of the past are ignored when policy is determined by the politics of bigotry and discrimination.”

The Japanese American National Museum is located at 100 N. Central Ave. For information, visit janm.org.

Publisher’s Note:

The events of WWII directly affected my family, as my mother changed her name from Araki to her mother’s maiden name, Holguin, in order to avoid being housed at the Manzanar internment camp near Lone Pine, CA. My uncle, Joseph Araki, however, kept his last name and joined the United States Army and was a war hero as a member of the all Japanese-American 442nd “Go For Broke” Battalion.

Michael Villalpando