A Call to Action by Jay Hirabayashi, Holly Yasui, and Karen Korematsu

By Jay Hirabayashi, Holly Yasui, and Karen Korematsu. Cross-Posted from Stop Repeating History!


Karen Korematsu (left), Holly Yasui (middle), and Jay Hirabayashi on a panel at the 2013 JANM National Conference. (Photo via DiscoverNikkei.org.)

A Call to Action: Reject the Shameful Legacy of Japanese American Incarceration and Call Upon the U.S. Supreme Court to Fulfill Its Role as Defender of the Constitution

Muslim teen abducted, assaulted and murdered in Virginia

Darwin Torres is accused of killing 17-year-old Nabra Hassanen with a baseball bat.



In Virginia, a Muslim teenage girl who was reportedly assaulted and disappeared has been found dead, and a 22-year-old man has been charged in her murder in connection with the case.

Teen Missing in Fairfax County Believed Dead; Suspect Charged: Police

Police believe a body found Sunday afternoon in a pond in Sterling is 17-year-old Nabra Hassanen, who was reported missing after she and some friends got into an altercation with a motorist near their mosque.

According to police, a group of girls was walking back from breakfast at IHOP early Sunday when they got into a dispute with a motorist -- witnesses say he appeared to be drunk and was brandishing a baseball bat -- who got out of his car and assaulted one of them. The rest of the teens ran back to their mosque, the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS), where the group reported that Hassanen had been left behind.

"Immediately thereafter, the ADAMS' personnel notified both Loudon County and Fairfax County authorities who immediately began an extensive search to locate the missing girl," the mosque said in a statement.

Police searched the surrounding wooded area for several hours, and found the body in the pond, located about two to three miles away from where the original altercation happened.

Powerful PSA on internment asks: Is History Repeating Itself?

Executive produced by Katy Perry. Yes, that Katy Perry.



Amidst xenophobic rhetoric and disconcerting discussions of a Muslim registry, it's not hard to draw parallels between modern day Islamophobia and the fears that led to the incarceration of innocent Japanese Americans during World War II. This PSA, directed by Aya Tanimura and Tim Nackashi, and executive produced by Katy Perry(!), makes the case that registries are the first steps to history repeating itself.

This two and half minute clip features a brief interview with Haru Kuromiya, an 89-year-old American woman of Japanese heritage who grew up in Riverside, California. She recalls how her family was put on a registry and eventually taken off to an internment camp, where they were incarcerated for four years.

Then Haru stops talking and does something unexpected...

Feature film imagines the internment of Muslim Americans

What if America interned Muslim and Arab Americans like they did to Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor?



What if what happened to Japanese Americans during World War II happened again today to Muslim and Arab Americans? The feature film Executive Order 13800, written and directed by Mustafa Zeno, imagines such a scenario under President Donald Trump. It's happened before. Amidst the current political climate and actual discussion of a so-called Muslim "registry," it's looking more and more like it could happen again.

Executive Order 13800 is a drama following a Muslim American family after the U.S. experiences a 9/11-type terrorist attack. Following this national tragedy, President Trump issues Executive Order 13800, requiring all Muslim Americans to pack up their things and report to government site. Over the course of two weeks, the family's world turns upside down as they lose their civil rights and face an uncertain future.

The film is currently raising production funds through Indiegogo.

Who the f*ck throws eggs at a solidarity vigil?

Little Tokyo hosted a vigil and rally in support of Muslim Americans and other immigrants.


Photo Credit: Josie Huang/KPCC
On Wednesday night in Los Angeles, community members led a march through Little Tokyo on the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, calling for solidarity with Muslim Americans during this time of heightened of xenophobia and discrimination. We've been here before. We know where this leads. This is a community leading a literal march to make sure that America does not go down this road again.

Japanese-Americans stand with Muslims in wake of attacks

What this article does not mention is that as the vigil, a diverse gathering of about 200 community folk, made its way down 2nd Street, someone threw eggs at the crowd from a third floor balcony of the Hikari Apartments. According to several friends who were there, the eggs were thrown as vigil participants were chanting "Muslims are welcome here." Thankfully, nobody was hit. But it's definitely a reminder that there are some shitty people out there.

The way some friends tell it...

900+ Asian American Studies Scholars Issue Collective Statement Decrying Trump’s Proposed Muslim Registry

By Jenn Fang. Cross-Posted from Reappropriate



Over 900 Asian American Studies scholars from across the United States issued a joint statement today decrying President-Elect Donald Trump’s proposal to create a national registry of Muslims and Muslim Americans.

Trump has repeatedly said that as president he would institute aggressive measures to limit immigration of Muslims into the country and to place Muslims currently within the United States’ borders under close scrutiny. He has promised to halt the entry of Syrian refugees and to also ban immigration from a number of countries -- including Pakistan and the Philippines -- with large Muslim populations. He is quoted as suggesting the creation of a national database of Muslim and Muslim Americans -- a proposal that is likely unconstitutional -- and he staffed his White House transition team with Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the architect of the highly controversial NSEERS registry system which was used to monitor the movement of Muslim immigrants under George W. Bush and the first half of the Obama administration.

Earlier this month, Trump surrogate Carl Higbie went on Fox News to defend Trump’s alarming proposals to register Muslims and Muslims Americans. In an appearance on The Kelly File, Higbie suggested that Trump’s proposal for a national Muslim registry has legal precedent: Japanese American incarceration during World War II (for a note on language, see JACL’s Power of Words handbook).

It should come as no surprise that Asian American Studies scholars have something to say about that dubious line of reasoning.

Hate letters to mosques threaten genocide against Muslims

"He's going to do to you Muslims what Hitler did to the Jews."



Dispatches from Trump America... In California, a hate letter threatening genocide against Muslims was sent to three mosques, warning that Donald Trump would "do to you Muslims what Hitler did to the Jews."

Letters threatening genocide against Muslims and praising Trump sent to multiple California mosques

The same handwritten, photocopied letter, addressed to "the children of Satan," was sent last week to the Islamic Center of Long Beach, the Islamic Center of Claremont and the Evergreen Islamic Center in San Jose. The author promises, among other things, that Trump will "cleanse America and make it shine again."

Because History Is In Danger of Repeating Itself

"Is it starting to sink in?"



There are clear, frightening parallels between the contemporary scapegoating of Muslims in America and the persecution of Japanese Americans during World War II. This is how it begins. Anyone who can't recognize this is either willfully ignorant or simply does not care. Bobby Hundreds sees the parallels.

Bobby Hundreds, aka Bobby Kim, founder of the apparel company The Hundreds created this limited edition shirt design earlier this year for "What A Time To Be Alive," an social issues-oriented group show at Slow Culture. With fresh talk of a Muslim registry and the "precedent" of Japanese American internment, Bobby recently re-shared the shirt via Instagram and asked, "Is it starting to sink in?"

Trump supporter cites Japanese American internment as "precedent" for Muslim registry

Sorry, but we're not falling for that shit again.



Well, that didn't take long. A week into this shit and we're already talking about internment camps. On Wednesday, a Trump surrogate made the case for creating a federal registry for immigrants from Muslim countries, citing the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II as "precedent."

Japanese American internment is 'precedent' for national Muslim registry, prominent Trump backer says

How the hell did we get here? Carl Higbie, a spokesman for a major pro-Trump super PAC, appeared on Megyn Kelly's Fox News show to argue that a national database of Muslim immigrants would be legal and necessary, reminding everybody that the United States did it before with the Japanese during World War II.

He neglects to mention that it's considered one of the shittiest, darkest moments of trampling civil liberties in our nation's history. "Come on," Kelly prods back. "You're not suggesting that we go back to the days of internment camps? That's the kind of stuff that gets people scared, Carl."

Higbie insists that he's not proposing that at all. "I'm just saying there is precedent for it."

Video: Japanese American Internees Read "Letters From Camp" with Muslim Kids

Young Muslim Americans read letters written by incarcerated Japanese American during World War II.



During World War II, the United States government forcibly and unjustly incarcerated more than 120,000 innocent Japanese Americans without due process. Half of them were children.

In this short film by Frank Chi, produced for the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, young Muslim Americans read letters written by Japanese Americans while incarcerated in camps during World War II.

Although these two groups are separated by generations, it's a powerful reminder of the parallels -- of prejudice, persecution and perseverance -- between these two communities, and our tenuous relationship with the past, which is constantly on the brink of only a few simple, dark turns from repeating itself.

"It's just not an option for us to throw another community under the bus."

The Daily's Show's Hasan Minhaj talks to Sikhs about how Islamophobia is affecting their community.



Since 9/11, the rise of Islamophobia has targeted groups indiscriminately with hate speech and violence. Sikhs, who wear a turban as an article of faith, have often been mistaken for Muslims. But as this Daily Show segment demonstrates, you won't find the Sikh community throwing Muslims under the bus.

Hasan Minhaj -- aka "Brown Ryan Seacrest" -- recently sat down with designer and actor Waris Ahluwalia and other Sikhs to find out how Islamophobia is affecting their community. Despite Hasan's urging to Sikhs to attempt to blend in, deflect and declare "We're not Muslim!" the group of individuals gathered here says they won't compromise their values -- as Sikhs and as Americans.

The Daily Show's Tips for Flying While Muslim

Hasan Minhaj demonstrates how Muslims can fly without terrifying their fellow travelers.



Ah, Flying While Brown. After a college student was recently kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight simply for speaking Arabic -- shout out to all you racist, idiotic air passengers who get freaked by the sight of a brown face and the sound of a "foreign" tongue -- The Daily Show with Trevor Noah's Hasan Minhaj made a handy pre-flight video demonstrating how Muslims can fly without terrifying their fellow travelers.

"If you speak Arabic, don't. It's a scary language." Hasan advises. "But don't not speak either, because that's also super suspicious."

2016 Los Angeles Community Day of Remembrance

Saturday, February 20 at the Japanese American National Museum



If you are in Southern California, the Japanese American National Museum invites you to join them for the 2016 Los Angeles Community Day of Remembrance, the annual commemoration of President Franklin Roosevelt's signing of Executive Order 9066, which authorized the forcible removal and incarceration of thousands of Japanese Americans during World War II.

In light of recent events, this year's Day of Remembrance program will focus on Islamophobia and the backlash Muslim Americans have faced following terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernadino, exploring parallels between the experiences of those groups and that of Japanese Americans during World War II.

It's happening Saturday, February 20 at the Japanese American National Museum. Here are more details:

Bronx man attacked by suspects who shouted "ISIS!"

NYPD investigating the assault on Mujibur Rahman as an anti-Muslim hate crime.



On Friday in the Bronx, a Muslim man wearing traditional South Asian clothing was attacked by two suspects who shouted "ISIS! ISIS!" while they assaulted him. NYPD is investigating the incident as a hate crime.

Assailants Yell 'ISIS! ISIS!' During Attack on Man in Bronx, Police Say

43-year-old Mujibur Rahman was dressed in a shalwar kameez and walking his 9-year-old niece home from school early Friday evening when two suspects approached them from behind and attacked him.

The suspects, who are believed to be teenagers, shouted, "ISIS! ISIS!"

What would Ms. Marvel say to Donald Trump?

Marvel editor Sana Amanat talks comic books on 'Late Night with Seth Meyers.'



Nerd out with me. On Tuesday night, Marvel Comics editor Sana Amanat was a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers, where she talked about creating a space for diverse and authentic characters that readers can relate to -- including the hugely popular current incarnation of Ms. Marvel, aka Pakistani American teen Kamala Khan, the first Muslim American character to headline her own own comic book. She is the coolest.

Here's a clip from the interview:

'Allegiance' has been saving a seat for Donald Trump

George Takei calls on Trump to denounce racial/religious profiling and invites him to his Broadway musical.



Donald Trump has a standing open invitation to attend a performance of the Broadway musical Allegiance, issued by star George Takei himself. They've even been saving a seat for him at every performance.

Last week, Takei issued a video response to Trump's recent comments regarding both the Muslim community and Japanese American internment camps. The Republican presidential candidate called for a ban on all Muslims entering the U.S. and could not definitively say whether or not he would have supported the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. His supporters seem to think it was a good idea.

Suspect arrested in Sikh temple vandalism

20-year-old Brodie Durazo was arrested for spray-painting anti-Muslim graffiti at Gurdwara Singh Sabha.



In Buena Park, California, a 20-year-old man has been arrested for the vandalism of a Sikh temple that was spray-painted with anti-Muslim profanity. Police had been investigating the incident as a hate crime.

Brodie Durazo, 20, Busted for Alleged Anti-Muslim Vandalism at Sikh Temple

On Wednesday, police questioned Brodie Durazo, who admitted to committing the vandalism at Gurdwara Singh Sabha last week. Community members discovered graffiti on the exterior of the temple, as well as "FUCK ISIS" and gang references spray-painted on a tractor-trailer in the temple's parking lot.

Sikh temple vandalized with anti-Muslim hate graffiti

A truck parked at an Orange County Sikh temple was tagged with "Fuck ISIS."



In Buena Park, California, a Sikh temple was vandalized with anti-Muslim profanity just days after the mass shooting in San Bernadino. Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime.

Hate Crime Inquiry Opened Into Vandalism of Sikh Temple in California

On Sunday morning, community members discovered graffiti on the exterior of the Gurdwara Singh Sabha. Someone had also spray-painted gang tags and "FUCK ISIS" on a tractor-trailer in the temple's parking lot.

"Donald Trump is White ISIS."

The Daily Show's Hasan Minhaj breaks down the frightening truth.



I am now consciously trying to refrain from contributing to Trump-related noise, because fuck that guy. But I couldn't resist sharing this segment from The Daily Show, in which host Trevor Noah, in response to the Republican presidential candidate's call for the United States to ban all Muslims from entering the country, bestows Donald Trump with a pretty damn great new moniker: "White ISIS."

Daily Show Senior Political Correspondent Hasan Minhaj, who happens to be Muslim himself, broke it down.

"I think this is where the evidence points: Donald Trump is an extremist leader who came out of nowhere," Minhaj explained. "He's self-financed, recruits through social media, attracts his followers with a radical ideology to take over the world, and is actively trying to promote a war between Islam and the West."

It all points to a frightening truth:

Donald Trump might have supported Japanese internment

"I would have had to be there at the time to give you a proper answer."



Donald Trump did not say that he would have been in favor of Japanese internment during World War II. But he couldn't definitively say that he wouldn't be in favor of internment. And that alone is troubling as fuck.

Exclusive: Donald Trump Says He Might Have Supported Japanese Internment

In an interview with TIME, the Republican presidential candidate said he does not know whether he would have supported or opposed the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.

"I would have had to be there at the time to tell you, to give you a proper answer," Trump said. "I certainly hate the concept of it. But I would have had to be there at the time to give you a proper answer."