Smithsonian's History Explorer Resources Related To "Connecting Food and Stories"

Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 13:08:53 GMT

The Densho Project is a non-profit educational organization that preserves historical first-person accounts, photographs and documents in a digital archive. Digitally videotaped oral history interviews include personal experiences of immigration, family life, mass incarceration of Japanese Americans by their government during World War II, efforts to obtain redress for the denial of civil rights, and many other topics. This resource links past and present by providing primary and secondary source material on Japanese American experiences, as part of American history. The Densho Project works to educate future generations, collaborating with teachers and students in communities nationwide, preserving history, and inspiring people to act with respect, compassion and fairness.

Japanese Americans and the U.S. Constitution: Justice

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 14:28:21 GMT

Students will learn about the efforts of Japanese Americans to receive justice after their internment during World War II. This section of A More Perfect Union, an online exhibition, uses artifacts from the Museum's collections, primary source documents, photographs and oral histories to discuss the court cases brought against the government, the formal apologies and efforts of redress by the government and the successes of members of the Japanese American community in post-war United States. Oral history transcripts are available in each subsection of this webpage.

Becoming Aware of the Japanese American Internment Camp Experience

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 13:04:43 GMT

This lesson will help students become aware of, and sensitive to, the Japanese American internment camp experience. By creating a list of things that are important and familiar to them and then choosing what they will take and leave behind, students will develop a sense of empathy by simulating situations which Japanese American children faced. This lesson accompanies in the online exhibition A More Perfect Union, which focuses on the experiences of Japanese Americans who were placed in internment camps during World War II.