By Staff
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
The Puyallup Valley chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) will hold its 47th annual Day of Remembrance at the Washington State Fairgrounds on Feb. 8.
The Day of Remembrance marks the anniversary of Executive Order 9066. The executive order imprisoned at least 125,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans during WWII. The fairgrounds used to be an incarceration camp, holding 7,500 Japanese and Japanese Americans from the Seattle area.
“This year’s commemoration of this dark date in our nation’s history comes on the heels of a series of executive orders signed by newly-inaugurated President Trump, which aim to deport vast numbers of immigrants and end birthright citizenship,” the JACL’s Puyallup chapter said in a press release. “Immigrant rights advocates and Japanese American leaders say these executive orders—one of which explicitly invokes the Alien Enemies Act, which provided the legal basis for the detention of Japanese, German, and Italian immigrants during WWII—will be a devastating repetition of history.”
The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 is the piece of legislation that the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt used to incarcerate Japanese, German, and Italian nationals residing in the United States the moment the United States entered WWII. Its invocation during WWII paved the way for Roosevelt to issue Executive Order 9066.
U.S. legislators Sen. Mazie Hirono and Rep. Ilhan Omar have once again introduced legislation in an attempt to get the act repealed and replaced with the Neighbors Not Enemies Act.
The JACL’s Puyallup Valley chapter also included the following details about the Feb. 8 event in its press release:
WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, 10:30 a.m.—1 p.m.
WHERE: Washington State Fair Expo Hall, Remembrance Gallery. Free parking is available in the Gold Parking Lot, 350 7th Ave SE, Puyallup.
WHO: Puyallup Valley JACL, Seattle JACL, Tsuru for Solidarity, Densho, Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Washington, and Minidoka Pilgrimage Planning Committee
WHAT: Brief program with speakers to acknowledge the incarceration of Japanese Americans at the Puyallup Assembly Center during WWII, followed by a screening of the short film Silent Fair and viewing of the Remembrance Gallery.
WWII incarceration survivors will have priority seating in the front row of the audience, and will be gifted hand-crafted boutonnieres and uchiwa (handheld fans) to acknowledge them. After the program, participants will be guided through a curtained path adorned with handwritten reflections to the Remembrance Gallery, where a memorial wall lists the names of those imprisoned at the fairgrounds during WWII.
Readers can find additional details here: https://puyallupvalleyjacl.org/gallery/gallery-events/day-of-remembrance-2025/