Racism has been an issue that has plagued our country since its birth. To think that racial inequality no longer exists is to think that air is not needed for one’s survival. The website on the internment of Japanese Americans was a great informational website that delved into the history and American conflicts during WW II.
I was both shocked and appalled at the degree of racism both Japanese Americans and Japanese nationals were forced to bear. What was most disturbing was that even though our government had no evidence to support claims that Japanese Americans or Japanese nationals were spies, these individuals were forced out of their homes and into lowly concentration camps with armed guards. President Roosevelt ignored reports from various organizations like the FBI and the Naval Intelligence that there wasn’t a need to round up those of Japanese descent and incarcerate them. FBI director J. Edgar Hoover stated, “… the decision to evacuate was… based primarily on public and political pressures rather than factual data.”
How could this happen in the United States of America? How could this happen in a land that believed “innocent until proven guilty”? This happened because racism back during the WW II era was still widely accepted. The only difference between then and now is that racism is implicit whereas back then it was explicit. The website on the internment of Japanese Americans was an eye opener for me. Studying and learning history is essential in preventing history from repeating itself.
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