If They Came for Me Today documents the legacy of Japanese Americans forced to live in internment camps during World War II. Drawing on the oral histories of 15 local Japanese Americans who were themselves interned or whose parents
were internees, students from George Washington and Balboa High Schools and Horace Mann Middle School in San Francisco created a unique exhibition that simultaneously chronicles the experiences of one generation and the reactions of another.
Group tours available by appointment. Contact Community Works at (510) 486-2340.
Exhibition:
January 13 – March 18, 2007
Skylight Gallery, Main Library, 6th Floor
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)
Opening Program:
Featuring the Honorees and ROOTS students from Balboa High School; key note speakers include public defender Jeff Adachi and playwright Philip Kan Gotanda; a special reading by poet Janice Mirikitani; and a reading by Sana Benharchache from
the Arab Cultural and Community Center. Kazu Maruoka, George Yamasaki, Paul Yonemura and Stuart Yasaki will play swing music of the camp era.
Saturday, January 20, 2007, 2 – 4 p.m.
Koret Auditorium, Main Library, Lower Level
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)
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Honorees:
Dianne Fukami
Philip Kan Gotanda
Sato Hashizume
Chizu Iiyama
Ernie Iiyama
Sox Kitashima
Mary Masamitsu
Ginger Masuoka
Janice Mirikitani
Esther Oda
Ruth Okimoto
Emiko Omori
Toru Saito
Morgan Yamanaka
George Yoshida
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Related Programs:
- If They Came For Me Today: Art and Literature from the Japanese American Internment
Moderated by Nicole Sawaya. Speakers include Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston author of
Farewell to Manzanar; Kimi Kodani Hill, author of Topaz Moon: Chiura Obata’s Art of the Internment, George Yoshida, author of Reminiscing in Swingtime and
Delphine Hirasuna, author and curator of The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps.
Thursday, February 8, 2007, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Koret Auditorium, Main Library, Lower Level
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)
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Hiroshi Kashiwagi author of Swimming in the American: A Memoir and Selected Writings
Wednesday, March 7, 2007, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Latino/Hispanic Community Meeting Room, Main Library, Lower Level
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)
- The Slanted Screen
From silent film star Sessue Hayakawa to Harold & Kumar Go to Whitecastle, The Slanted Screen: Asian Men in Film and Television
explores portrayals of Asian men in American cinema, chronicling the experiences of actors who struggled against ethnic stereotyping and limiting roles. A discussion with writer, director and producer Jeff Adachi follows the film.
Sunday, March 11, 2007, 1:00 – 3:00pm
Koret Auditorium, Main Library, Lower Level
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)
- After the War: A Discussion with Philip Kan Gotanda
Playwright Philip Kan Gotanda discusses his new world premiere, After the War, opening at American Conservatory Theater on March 22. During the
internment of Japanese Americans, San Francisco’s bustling Japantown suddenly became an urban ghost town. But what happened when the Japanese Americans came back? Set in 1948, After the War looks at the rebuilding of a community shattered
by the effects of war. Gotanda will share his inspirations for the play, the challenges of producing new work, and the genesis from page to stage.
Wednesday, March 14, 6:30 – 7:30pm
Koret Auditorium, Main Library, Lower Level
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)
Related Exhibition:
Relocation and Resiliency: Japanese American Internment in California - As a companion exhibit for Community Works’ If They Came for Me Today: The Japanese American Internment Project, the Library’s
San Francisco History Center presents a selection of materials reflecting aspects of the Japanese American internment story in California, featuring camp newspapers and art, photographs and text.
January 13 – March 18, 2007
San Francisco History Center Cases
Skylight Gallery, 6th Floor
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)
Supported by:
Co-sponsored by Teachers for Social Justice, Community Educational Services (CES), Arab Cultural and Community Center (ACCC) and the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California.
Funded by California Arts Council, San Francisco Department of Children, Youth and Families, San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice and Friends of the San Francisco Public Library. Artist facilitators Dee Morizono and Wendy Hanumura.
News Release - Legacy of Life in the Camps - Exhibition shares stories of 15 Japanese Americans interned during WWII
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