RECKONING is an multimedia experience about the Japanese American fight for redress and reparations in the 1980s — and the lessons it holds for communities seeking justice and healing today. The piece focuses specifically on the role of Chicago’s Japanese American community in the broader movement.
Thanks to Bill Yoshino, Ross Harano, Lisa Doi, Mary Samson, and Jane Kaihatsu for participating in interviews and assisting with archival research. Thanks also to the teachers and students who participated in surveys and interviews that informed the design of this web experience.
Written and produced by Katherine Nagasawa
Web design and development
Paula Friedrich
Illustrations
Cori Nakamura Lin
Video production assistance
Matthew Zhou
This project is part of a multi-pronged collaborative grant initiative undertaken by the Japanese American Service Committee and the Chicago Japanese American Historical Society with funding support from the National Park Service Japanese American Confinement Sites program. In addition to this interactive web experience, the grant project resulted in the digitization and transcription of many pre-existing oral history interviews, the recording of new oral histories, the development of a curriculum and lesson plans, and teacher training workshops. You can view a selection of other interviews with Chicago-area Japanese Americans here.
Project management
Emma Saito Lincoln and Mike Takada
Curriculum design
Jean Mishima and Marlynne Nishimura
Former oral history project coordinator
Anna Takada
This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
This material received Federal financial assistance for the preservation and interpretation of U.S. confinement sites where Japanese Americans were detained during World War II. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, the U.S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability or age in its federally funded assisted projects. If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information, please write to:
Office of Equal Opportunity
National Park Service
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240