February 19th is a significant date for the Japanese American community. On this day in 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which gave the U.S. Army the authority to remove civilians from the military zones established in Washington, Oregon, and California during WWII. This led to the forced removal and incarceration of some 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast, who had to abandon their jobs, their homes, and their lives to be sent to one of ten concentration camps scattered in desolate, remote regions of the country.
No Japanese Americans were ever charged, much less convicted, of espionage or sabotage against the United States. Yet they were targeted, rounded up, and imprisoned for years, simply for having the “face of the enemy.”
Every February, the Japanese American community commemorates Executive Order 9066 as a reminder of the impact the incarceration experience has had on our families, our community, and our country. It is an opportunity to educate others on the fragility of civil liberties in times of crisis, and the importance of remaining vigilant in protecting the rights and freedoms of all.
For information on 2021 Day of Remembrance events held throughout the country, please click on your region below.
Bay Area | Northern California | Central California | Southern California | Pacific Northwest | Pacific Southwest | Intermountain | Midwest | East Coast
41st Annual San Jose Day of Remembrance – Confronting Race in America: Unifying Our Communities
When: Sunday, February 14 at 3pm PST
RSVP: Here!
Bay Area DOR: Abolition! Reparations! Carrying the Light for Justice
When: Friday, February 19 at 6pm PST
RSVP: Here!
University of San Francisco (online) – Day of Remembrance Keynote Speech – The Irei Names Monument: A Memorial to Persons of Japanese Ancestry Incarcerated in the U.S. during WWI
When: Wednesday, February 24, at 10:30am PST
Where: Learn More Here!
UC Berkeley NSU Day of Remembrance
When: Friday, February 19 at 6:30pm PST
Watch Live: Here!
Stockton JACL -Shadows from the Past: Sansei Artists & the American Concentration Camps
When: Thursday, January 21 at 5pm PST
RSVP: Here!
Northern California Time of Remembrance – Uncomfortable Conversations:
Racism, Equity, and Belonging
When: Saturday, February 13 at 1pm PST
RSVP: Here!
Paula Fujiwara – Talk for Renaissance Society DOR
When: Friday, February 19, at 7pm PST
RSVP: Here!
Yuba Sutter Arts Day of Remembrance
When: Friday, February 19th at 6pm PST
Where: Watch Here!
Hayward Honors the Day of Remembrance
Then They Came for Us Q&A ft. George Takei
When: Friday, February 19th at 4pm PT
RSVP: Here!
LA DOR – “Uniting with Other Communities to Keep Democracy Alive”
When: Saturday, February 13, 2pm PST
What Does it Mean to be an American? Teacher Training and DOR
When: Saturday, February 20th at 10am PST
RSVP: Here!
Gardena Valley JCI DOR Collections
When: Monday, February 22nd-27th
Where: Learn More Here!
Portland JACL Redress and Reparations: Yesterday and Today
When: Saturday, February 20 at 2pm PST
RSVP Here: https://tinyurl.com/PDXDOR2021
University of Puget Sound Presents: Japanese American Day of Remembrance with Lisa Hoffman and Mary Hanneman
When: Wednesday, February 17th at 6pm PST
RSVP: Here!
Densho Week of Remembrance
When: Sunday, February 14 – 21
Learn More: Here!
Alaska JACL and Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship: Fellowship Sunday Forum DOR Special
When: Sunday, February 14th, at 9am AKST
RSVP: Here!
Wing Luke Museum DOR INS Building Tour
When: Saturday, February 20th at 11am PST
RSVP: Here!
Wing Luke Museum – We Hereby Refuse Book Celebration
When: Saturday, February 20th at 2pm PST
RSVP: Here!
Wing Luke Museum – We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration Teaching History Through Graphic Novels
When: Saturday, February 27th at 8AM PST
RSVP: Here!
New Mexico JACL Day of Remembrance
When: Sunday, February 14 at 3pm MST
Where: RSVP will be posted later!
Duncan Ryuken Williams – A Remembrance of Names: A Buddhist Monument to the WWII Japanese American Incarceration with UofA Buddhist Studies Program
When: Friday, February 19, at 3pm MST
Where: RSVP Here!
“Setsuko’s Secret: Heart Mountain and the Legacy of the Japanese American Incarceration,” a conversation with Shirley Ann Higuchi, JD and Rob Citino, PhD
When: Friday, February 19 at 12pm EST
Where: RSVP here!
Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation DOR
When: Thursday, February 18 at 7pm EST
Where: Watch Live Here!
Mile High JACL DOR
When: Saturday, February 20 at 2pm MST
Where: Watch Live Here!
When: Monday, February 15th at TBA
Where: Watch Here!
Chicago Day of Remembrance – Righting Historical Wrongs: Connecting Black Reparations and Japanese American Redress
When: Sunday, February 21 at 2pm CST
RSVP: www.chicagodor.org
Twin Cities JACL/CAIR Day of Remembrance
When: Sunday, February 21 at 4pm CST
RSVP: https://tinyurl.com/DOR2021
JACL Chicago Next Gen Nikkei DOR: Making Art with Japanese American Archives
When: Sunday, February 21 at 1pm EST
RSVP: Here!
New England JACL
When: Saturday, February 27th at 3:30pm EST
Virginia Tech: Black History Month & Day of Remembrance: Commemorating Japanese American Internment
When: Sunday, February 9 at 7pm EST
RSVP: Here
When: Friday, February 19th at 6pm EST
Watch Online: Here!
