Min Yanagihashi and Brett Esaki: "Asian-American Discrimination: Then & Now"

Click here to view event recording on YouTube. 

On February 18, 2023, the Tucson Desert Art Museum will host a special roundtable event entitled "Asian-American Discrimination: Then and Now" to commemorate the annual Day of Remembrance for Japanese American Incarceration during World War II on February 19. The event will be held from 11 am to 1 pm and attendees are encouraged to bring their own lunch.

Retired Professor Min Yanagihashi and Assistant Professor Brett Esaki from the University of Arizona will be guest speakers. They will provide insight and historical context on the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, its ongoing legacy in the United States, and current-day prejudice against Asians in light of COVID-19. The event aims to educate and raise awareness about the history and current issues of discrimination against Asian Americans.

This event is in support of the exhibition currently on display at the Tucson Desert Art Museum through March 26, 2023. confronts an uncomfortable period in American history, when the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor led to the relocation of 120,000 Japanese Americans to incarceration camps. The exhibition features historic documents, installations, and large-scale images from noted photographers Dorothea Lange and Russell Lee, offering a guide for reflection on this tragic political action and its repercussions for Japanese Americans.Citizen/Enemy: Japanese American Incarceration CampsCitizen/Enemy

Image: Professors Esaki and Yanagihashi presenting at the Tucson Desert Art Museum Feb. 18, 2023 via James Tokishi Photography.