Jenny Manasco, Digital Collections Specialist
We are wrapping up our work on the Japanese American Confinement Sites grant project. An eight-panel travelling exhibit will debut at the ABC Biennial in Omaha and an online exhibit will provide a more extensive look at the experience of Japanese American Baptists during WWII.
On December 7, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Presidential Proclamation 2525 that declared all people of Japanese descent, including those born in the United States, “enemy aliens.” A few months later, Executive Order 9066 led to the incarceration of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry, two-thirds of whom were American citizens. Among those, some 2000 were affiliated with American Baptist churches including several pastors who had come to the U. S. sponsored by the American Baptist Home Mission Societies.
Several of those Japanese pastors were among the first arrested, along with other community leaders. They were detained in prison camps and most were not reunited with their families for months or years. Home missionaries who had been working in Seattle, Sacramento, and Los Angeles along with Ralph Mayberry of the Los Angeles City Mission Society and John Thomas, Director of Cities at ABHMS immediately went to work trying to intervene on their behalf. They wrote letters vouching for people, visited those who had been arrested, and provided what support they could for the families left behind. Eventually, the pastors joined their families and congregations in the incarceration camps.
These camps of hastily constructed barracks were mostly located in remote areas. Because the Japanese people did not know where they would end up when forced from their homes, their clothing was often inadequate or unsuited to the climate. They were provided only with a cot and a mattress, which they usually had to stuff themselves from piles of straw upon arrival. Restrooms and bath houses had no stalls for privacy. Those incarcerated in this manner had not been charged with any crime. They included infants, children, and the elderly. Many had been successful business owners, farmers, doctors, or other professionals, but they were “enemy aliens” simply because of their race.
We knew this story was one we needed to tell, but as we have been poring over images and records related to these events, the story has become even more relevant. The current use of the Alien Enemies Act to arrest and imprison people without evidence speaks to our profound historical amnesia. Perhaps this project will provide a reminder of what can happen when we allow people to be called “enemy” simply because they do not look like us.
Torbet Prize Call for Papers
The American Baptist Historical Society announces a Call for Papers for the Torbet Prize. Each year ABHS seeks essays on Baptist history from authors who have not already published a major scholarly work. The Research and Publication Committee of the ABHS Board of Manager serves as judges, and the winning essay is eligible for publication in an upcoming issue of the Foundations and its author awarded $500. The deadline for submission is September 1. Here are downloadable details.
Send entry, contact information, and a brief bio including a list of prior publications to: ABHSoffice@ABHSarchives.org
CRITERIA FOR SELECTION:
- Author has not already published a major scholarly work;
- Submissions make a unique contribution to the field of Baptist history and/or theology;
- Professional and academic writing standards are met, especially re: attributions and citations;
- Citations, format, and style must follow the Chicago Manual of Style;
- Maximum length: 25 double-spaced pages (excluding notes);
- Submission must be in final draft form, free from errors and ready for publication.
Robert George Torbet (1912-1995) was an American Baptist historian and educator, born in Spokane, WA and later a graduate of Wheaton College, Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and the University of Pennsylvania. He taught church history at Eastern Seminary (1944-1952), served as director of educational services for the American Baptist Board of Education and Publication (1952-1958), as dean and church history professor at Central Baptist Theological Seminary (1958-1967), and as Associate General Secretary for Ecumenical Relations of the American Baptist Churches, USA (1967-1977). His significant contributions to Baptist research and publication led the American Baptist Historical Society to establish a prize in his honor to encourage development of young scholars in the field of Baptist history studies.
