Dorothea Lange

I am sharing the photographs of the Japanese Internment Camps without any context or links, normally there would be a link to the original location (log.gov) providing some context and/or more information. Somehow this is not the case for these images. I am afraid I have no time to see if I can provide more context.
I was pointed to some disconcerting news: https://densho.org/catalyst/national-archives-whitewashing-ugly-histories-japanese-american-incarceration (much appreciated @MBridegam) So it is worthwhile to provide more context. I am afraid that due to time constraints I am not able to do so.

I have found some articles that give more background on this issue:
https://densho.org/
https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/immigration/japanese/behind-the-wire/
https://www.annefrank.org/en/timeline/152/prisoners-of-war-and-internment-camps-in-japan/
https://www.pbs.org/childofcamp/history/

Please read up on the issue. History tends to repeat itself.

The National Archives Is Whitewashing “Ugly” Histories Like Japanese American Incarceration - Densho: Japanese American Incarceration and Japanese Internment

The National Archives' new leader has spent the last year quietly whitewashing "ugly" histories like Japanese American incarceration.

Densho: Japanese American Incarceration and Japanese Internment
Dec 19 at 6:07amWeb
Show threadMartha BridegamDec 19

@DorotheaLange

One of these links is to a description of the atrocious WWII mistreatment of Filipino and U.S. prisoners by the Japanese government.

That was different from what Dorothea Lange photographed, which was the imprisonment of Japanese American civilians in the United States.

A key point here is that the United States, as a democracy, should have done better although, as we know, nondemocratic countries at that time committed crimes against humanity that were incomparably worse.

Show threadslow learner, deep feelerDec 19

@DorotheaLange @MBridegam

From the linked article:

"Managing the National Archives, and its museum and adjacent education center on the National Mall, is a huge responsibility. But instead of educating the public about WWII incarceration and other dark chapters of American history, U.S. Archivist Colleen Shogan has spent the last year quietly whitewashing that history.

Shogan, who was confirmed in May 2023, instructed employees to erase references to Japanese American incarceration from educational materials, and ordered the removal of Lange’s photos of WRA concentration camps from a planned exhibit at the National Archives Museum — claiming it was too negative and controversial."

Show threadslow learner, deep feelerDec 19

@DorotheaLange @MBridegam

"Also targeted for removal were photos of Martin Luther King Jr. and labor activist Dolores Huerta, and references to the displacement and dispossession of Indigenous peoples. According to employees, after a review of an exhibit on Westward expansion, Shogan asked, “Why is it so much about Indians?”

"NARA defended this exclusion by claiming “it is imperative that the National Archives welcomes — and feels welcoming to — all Americans.” But let’s be clear: erasing the experiences of people of color in this country is not welcoming. Excluding our stories from the National Archives excludes us from American history."

Show threadslow learner, deep feelerDec 19

@DorotheaLange @MBridegam

Thank you for publicizing this.

Show threadServelanDec 19

@DorotheaLange @MBridegam National Archives had started whitewashing a few months back. This is disappointing and maddening - this is the history I was never taught in school.

I learned of this as an adult, and my mother told me about losing a good friend to the camps (along with all the other students forced out of school), an event that still hurts her heart to this day.

Shame on the NA.

Show threadqurlyjoeDec 19
@DorotheaLange @MBridegam
What a surprise. Not.
A friend is 3rd generation Issei. His uncles served in the US Army in Italy and France in WWII and his father was in MIS in Hawaii and the Philippines. He regularly lectures on the subject here and in Europe. I’ve sent him this article.