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The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II was the subject of a panel discussion held on February 23 by Operation Protect and Defend. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Charles Kobayashi, Marielle Tsukamoto, Marion Kanemoto and Gary Shiota described their personal experiences with internment, which the United States government ordered in the wake of Pearl Harbor. The goal of the event was to give attendees, who included local judges, lawyers, educators and law students, a better understanding of the constitutional issues surrounding interment, its impact on our community and why the internment must not be forgotten.
"The story of internment is critical to tell so that children of the future will not much such a mistake again," said Tsukamoto, a former elementary school principal who was interned with her family when she was five years old.
The event was sponsored by Operation Protect and Defend, a program of the local bench and bar committed to enriching civic education in the public schools. The three year-old program has chosen the Japanese American internment as the focus of this spring's program, which will include dialogues about the internment at area high schools as well as an essay contest.
The program was held at the Firehouse Restaurant in Old Sacramento. It was also sponsored by the Barristers' Club, the Federal Bar Association, the Sacramento County Bar Association, the Asian/Pacific Bar Association of Sacramento, the Women Lawyers of Sacramento and the Wiley Manuel Bar Association. |
