FRIDAY - May 5th, 2023

Arkansas: Histories of Place

This panel, which kicks off our day of programming in Little Rock, is centered around broader histories of place. What stories have shaped Arkansas and the U.S. South into the place that we are visiting today? How did these histories impact what it means for our community to be here in Arkansas on pilgrimage? 

While we will be talking and learning a lot about Japanese American histories in Arkansas and elsewhere in the South over the course of the day, we want to begin by making time to learn about the other communities and histories that have shaped —and continue to shape —Arkansas and the South today. Of course, this panel will only brush the surface, but we hope it will help provide a better sense of where we are. 

Most broadly, this panel will touch on Native histories (and ongoing presence) in Arkansas and the South, histories of labor and race, stories about women, and stories of the Civil Rights Movement. Like Japanese American incarceration histories, each of these topics have clear and important implications for the present. We look forward to a rich conversation during the Q&A and to carrying these stories and our questions throughout the pilgrimage. 

Panelists:

Rising Above in Arkansas: Adding New Materials for the Jerome Camp

The Rising Above in Arkansas project and website is dedicated to preserving the history of the two Arkansas camps at Rohwer and Jerome.  With support from the Japanese American Confinement Sites program in the National Park Service, the project has been ongoing for nearly a decade with contributions from numerous Arkansas institutions including the University of Arkansas,

Arkansas State Archives, the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Arkansas State University, the University of Arkansas Little Rock – Center for Arkansas History and Culture, and the WWII Japanese American Internment Museum in McGehee.  The project website (risingabove.cast.uark.edu) uses an engaging and technological framework to tell the story of Japanese American incarceration in Arkansas interweaving 3D technologies, interactive maps, and primary source materials with searchable metadata.  Panel participants will discuss the most recent updates to the site which include adding over 1,100 items to the project archive and expanding the maps and timeline to include new materials related to Jerome.  With the project now complete, the Rising Above in Arkansas website is one of the premier online resources for learning about the unique history of the two Arkansas camps.

Presenters:

Japanese Americans in the South

Nisei and Nisei Soldiers During and After World War II - Okage Sama De…..We (sansei) are products of the “Greatest Generation”…..Let’s continue their legacy.

Presenter:

Exploring Louisiana’s Internment History: Camp Livingston and WWII Internment - Learn about the history of Camp Livingston, an Army camp in central Louisiana, that served as a site of internment of over 1000 Japanese American men during WWII.

Presenters:

JEROME AND ROHWER SURVIVOR PANEL

We are lucky enough to have several survivors of the Jerome and Rohwer camps who will be sharing their memories of camp. Don’t miss this opportunity to ask questions of people who actually lived through the incarceration and its aftermath.