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Shawn Wong materials on Japanese-Americans in World War II, 1941-1949
Overview of the Collection
- Compiler
- Wong, Shawn, 1949-
- Title
- Shawn Wong materials on Japanese-Americans in World War II
- Dates
- 1941-1949 (inclusive)19411949
- Quantity
- .23 cubic feet ( 1 box)
- Collection Number
- 6193 (Accession No. 6193-001)
- Summary
- Materials related to the Japanese-American experience during World War II
- Repository
-
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu - Access Restrictions
-
No restrictions on access.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Shawn Wong is an author and scholar specializing in creative writing and Asian American studies. Wong chaired the Department of English and directed the University Honors Program (2003–06) and Creative Writing Program (1995–97) at the University of Washington. Wong is the author and co-author of numerous novels and anthologies including Yardbird Reader Volume 3 (1974), Homebase (1979), The Big Aiiieeeee! An Anthology of Chinese American and Japanese American Literature (1991), The Before Columbus Foundation Fiction Anthology: Selections from the American Book Awards 1980-1990 (1992),The Literary Mosaic: An Anthology of Asian American Literature (1995), American Knees (1996), Aiiieeeee! An Anthology of Asian American Writers (1997), Asian Diasporas: Cultures, Identities, Representations (2004). In 2010, the novel American Knees was adapted to film, titled Americanese, by Eric Byler. Wong is a recipient of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award and the 15th Annual Governor's Writers Day Award of Washington. He is featured in the PBS documentaries Shattering the Silences (1997), Becoming American: The Chinese Experience (2003), and What's Wrong With Frank Chin? (2005).
Afton Nance was a teacher in Southern California during World War II. She corresponded with some of her former Japanese-American students while they were imprisoned.
Historical BackgroundReturn to Top
These materials relate to Japanese internment during World War II. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, over 120,000 Japanese and Japanese-Americans were forcibly removed from their homes in Washington, Oregon, and California and illegally incarcerated in prison facilities, euphemistically called "camps". Most remained imprisoned for the duration of the war. Following their release, most Japanese and Japanese-Americans continued to face discrimination and hatred.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Collection contains correspondence, reports on Red Cross activities in internment camps, news-clippings, governmental orders, and ephemera related to Japanese-Americans during World War II. The majority of the materials are pro-Japanese in nature and urge the public to critically examine the government's treatment of its Japanese and Japanese-American citizens. The materials compiled in this collection were used by author and University of Washington scholar, Shawn Wong, to inform his writing on Asian-Americans.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
Creator's copyrights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Series 1: Correspondence, 1945Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/1 | Letters from Afton Nance (Friends of the American Way)
to public officials regarding crimes against Japanese-Americans following
WWII |
March 17, 1945 - June 23, 1945 |
1/2 | Letters from Afton Nance (Friends of the American Way)
to Japanese-Americans regarding crimes against Japanese-Americans following
WWII |
March 3, 1945 - June 19, 1945 |
Series 2: Reports, 1943-1945Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/3 | Afton Nance Report on the Junior Red Cross Program at
the Colorado River War Relocation Unit (Poston, AZ) |
December 2, 1943 |
1/4 | Afton Nance Report on the Junior Red Cross Program at
the Gila River Relocation Unit (Phoenix, AZ) |
Decmeber 11, 1943 |
1/5 | Report on the Status of the Pasedena Chapter, Committee
on American Principles and Fair Play regarding Japanese
discrimination |
1945 |
Series 3: Press, 1944-1945Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/6 | The Retrun of the Nisei by Afton Nance |
1945? |
1/7 | Newsclippings and Press Releases related to Nisei
Soldiers |
1944-1945 |
Series 4: Executive Orders and Resolutions, 1941-1945Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/8 | Executive Order 9102 - Establishing the War Relocation
Authority Office |
1941 |
1/9 | Resolution Favoring Immediate Return of Evacuees as
Passed by the Presbytarian Synod of California |
1944-1945 |
1/10 | Resolution of the Catholic Interracial Council of Los
Angeles [calling for the immediately release of internned
Japanese/Japanese-American citizens] |
1944 |
1/11 | Resolution Unanimously Adopted by Los Angeles Post No.
8, American Legion [calling for the immediately release of internned
Japanese/Japanese-American citizens] |
1944 |
1/12 | Resolution Unanimously Adopted by Hollywood World War II
Post 591, American Legion [calling for the immediately release of internned
Japanese/Japanese-American citizens] |
1945 |
1/13 | Resolution on the Return of American Citizens and
Resident Aliens of Japanese Ancestry to the West Coast adopted by the Los
Angeles Congress of Industrial Operations (CIO) Council |
1945 |
Series 5: Ephemera, 1942-1946Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/14 | Portfolio of 50 Scenes of the Relocation Centers by
Henry Fukuhara |
1944 |
1/15 | Heart Mountain Postcards |
1942-1945 |
1/16 | H. Nishimura's Lacquer Factory pamphlet |
1942-1945 |
1/17 | The War Relocation Work Corps by the War Relocation
Authority |
1942 |
1/17 | A Balance Sheet on Japanese Evacuation by Galen M.
Fisher |
1943 |
1/17 | Beyond the Horizon by Yori Wada |
1943 |
1/17 | The Japanese in our Midst by the Colorado Council of
Churches |
1943 |
1/18 | Manzanar Adult Education with Special Emphasis on
Vocational Training - Spring Semester |
1943 |
1/18 | Outcasts! The Story of America's Treatment of her
Japanese-American Minority by Caleb Foote |
1943 |
1/18 | Nisei in Uniform by the War Relocation
Authority |
1943 |
1/18 | The Japanese Evacuation and the Minority Problem by
Samuel Nagata |
1943 |
1/19 | 7,000 American Refugees, Made in the USA by Truman B.
Douglass |
1944 |
1/19 | What about our Japanese Americans? By Caey
McWilliams |
1944 |
1/19 | Evergreen Hostel: A Hostel for Returning Japanese
Americans pamphlet |
1945 |
1/19 | The Displaced Japanese-Americans by the American Council
on Public Affairs |
1944 |
1/19 | New Neighbors Among Us by the War Relocation
Authority |
1944 |
1/19 | America for All Americans |
1944 |
1/20 | The Third Evacuation by Caleb Foote |
1945 |
1/20 | Bill Mauldin Says... |
1945 |
1/21 | Hate Challenges America by Eric Johnston |
1946 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)