What do we owe to one another in times of crisis and conflict?

People of Japanese descent settled in countries across the Americas and the Pacific in the first decades of the twentieth century. Against the headwinds of racism, they built communities and sought opportunity. Then, in the crisis of the 1940s, their lives were shattered. In allied countries across the globe, innocent Nikkei civilians— their loyalties deemed inscrutable, their rights alienable—were spuriously associated with a foreign threat, placed on government registries, rounded-up, incarcerated, and deported.

This history is an analogy for our times. National security concerns continue to interweave with racism. The human and civil rights of some still count more than others. We must learn from history as we combat racism and to strive for more just societies.

Our partners in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, and the United States have committed to telling this history together. Present challenges of migration, racism, and security are global in scale. So too is the public knowledge necessary for understanding how we came to this point and how we can forge new paths forward.

Photo: Hasegawa Family, Australia, circa 1910 (Courtesy of Museums Victoria)

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