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Description
Dale Sato interviewed Sumi Seki at Sato's home in Long Beach on March 29, 2004. Joh Sekiguichi monitored the recording equipment and Lily Nakatani took notes during the interview. Sumi Seki grew up at White's Point on the coast of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Her Issei parents were pioneers in clearing land for farming. They cultivated land they leased from Roman Sepulveda. Seki attended local public schools. After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, she was given the silent treatment by her Caucasian classmates and neighbors. Her family was sent to the incarceration camp at Jerome, near Denson, Arkansas. After WWII she worked in Chicago at a variety of jobs. Seki resettled in Long Beach where she worked at the Douglas Aircraft plant. In the 1980s, Seki joined the Japanese American redress movement as one of the few Nisei involved. They were successful in winning an apology and reparations from the US government. She feels that this effort marked the highlight of her life. Seki was interviewed as part of the South Bay Historical Project created by the South Bay Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League. Includes sixteen oral histories reflecting the various experiences of South Bay Issei and Nisei. Some grew up on farms and others in suburban area; some were incarcerated during WWII in incarceration camps and some spent all or part of the war working and living in other parts of the US or Japan. All of them returned to the South Bay after WWII and observed the changes that have occurred in area through the end of the twentieth century.
Identity and values--Nisei Immigration and citizenship--Arrival Geographic communities--California Industry and employment--Agriculture Education--Secondary education Community activities--Funerals Race and racism--Discrimination World War II--Mass removal ('Evacuation')--Preparation World War II--Mass removal ('Evacuation') World War II--Temporary Assembly Centers World War II--Incarceration camps World War II--Military service--Military Intelligence Service World War II--Administration--Registration and 'loyalty questionnaire Military service--Veterans' organizations Redress and reparations Community activities--Associations and organizations--Japanese American Citizens League
Place
Long Beach, California Temporary Assembly Centers--Santa Anita Incarceration Camps--Jerome
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