Day of Remembrance is an annual event hosted by the Nikkei Student Union during the Spring Semester. It is an educational program that remembers and honors the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II, as well as the struggles of those who fought for the civil rights of the Japanese. The event educates the public on what happened to the Japanese Americans during World War II, and stresses the importance of... unity and solidarity among minority groups so that such injustices cannot happen again. Day of Remembrances are traditionally held on February 19th to serve as a reminder of the signing of Executive Order 9066 in 1942, which allowed for the incarceration of the Japanese Americans. The event is open to the general public and is especially designed for students of color and other minority groups to attend.

This year marks the 69th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066. It is also the 3rd annual collaboration between the UC Berkeley Nikkei Student Union and the Muslim Student Association. This year’s program will focus on current events that illustrate the continuing need to remember lessons learned from the Japanese American internment story, such as the recent Park 51 controversy that sparked a conservative backlash against the Muslim Community last summer.

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This year's theme is "Japanese American Internment and Islamophobia"

Speakers include:
Karen Korematsu - Founder of the Fred Korematsu Civil Rights Fund and daughter of Fred Korematsu, who challenged the internment orders during World War II, Ms. Korematsu shares her father’s passion for social justice and continues to help support the new Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education at the Asian Law Caucus in development and outreach.

Lance Yokota - UC Berkeley alumni and activist, was involved with the redress movement in the 1980s. Now he works in civil rights administration at the Federal Highway Administration in Sacramento, helping to ensure participation of minority communities/businesses in the planning, construction and maintenance of highways as an extension of his social justice work.

Join us for a night of cross cultural community building and understanding filled with performances, guest speakers, discussion, and a candlelighting ceremony! Refreshments will also be provided.