The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) and 18MillionRising.org, joined with the voices of 3,522 petitioners, forwarded a letter to Amazon Vice President and General Counsel Mark Hoff on April 13. They are demanding that Amazon discontinue the marketing of Japanese American World War II incarceration photographs as decorative art for the home or office.
The joint letter from Cayden Mak, executive director of 18MilllionRising.org, and David Inoue, executive director of JACL, states, “Marketing prints of civil rights atrocities as home decor is desecration. These third party sellers are capitalizing on our painful history and exploiting our anguish for profit.”
During World War II, nearly 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans were imprisoned for no reason other than their heritage of Japanese ancestry. It took over 40 years for the government to admit the egregious wrongs.
The letter said that Walmart removed similar items, after conversations with JACL. “We urge Amazon to take these listings down immediately.
You have a golden opportunity to lead and express to your customers your values as a company,” said the letter.
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