Kent Chronicles
May 2012
Long History of Racism
• Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)
• California Alien Land Law of 1913 and 1920
• Immigration Act of 1924
The Japanese Community• Issei- 1st generation immigrants• Nisei- 2nd generation American citizens• Kibe- 2nd generation American citizens
Waves of Repression1. Leaders of the community were arrested.2. Every family was given a number.3. Every family was ordered to an assembly area.4. Eventually, the internees were moved to
permanent “relocation centers.”
Some Numbers
• 10 concentration camps• _____ Assembly Areas• 120,000 people of
Japanese Ancestry were interned
• 60% of those interned were American citizens.
Reasons for the Camps
• Military Necessity• Protect the Japanese
Americans from the mob
• Economic repression• Politics
1943 Questionnaire
Outcomes of the Questionnaire• No-No Boys– Tule Lake Segregation Center
• 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Combat Unit– Fought in Europe, mostly in
Italy– Recovered the Lost Battalion
Here in Kent
• Positive note– Kent High School had a graduation ceremony for
the Japanese seniors.• Negative note– Kent City Council publically stated that they didn’t
want the Japanese to come back after the war.
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