The recent revelation that Johns Hopkins, once thought to be a “good guy”, owned four slaves himself is one of those backward looks in time that brings about a major shame.
However awkward, exposing the truth is always important.
For Asian Americans, looking back at history–specifically Pearl Harbor Day, Dec. 7, 1941–uncovers the same kind of shame that conflicts when squaring with one’s sense of fairness and diversity.
In 1941, the surprise bomb attack in Hawaii brought the U.S. into World War II. By Dec. 8, President Roosevelt delivered a national address and declared war on Japan.
By Dec.13, west coast cities from Stockton to Seattle organized boycotts against Japanese American businesses.
I had never stopped to wonder what the Asian American reaction, specifically the Filipino American reaction, was to either the bombing at Pearl Harbor or the subsequent internment order of Japanese Americans.
I just assumed we had the same perspective as we do now–that it was all a horrible setback to Japanese Americans and Asian Americans, in general, and that we were all in solidarity.
