Conversations that Matter Speaker Series examines the pivotal role people play in creating inclusive workplaces and its impact on our well-being. Each episode weaves together storytelling and research-driven conversations with recognized authors, experts, students, faculty, and practitioners. Join us for the next Conversations that Matter Speaker Series event!
February 19th is a significant date in American history. “On this day in 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which gave the U.S. Army the authority to remove civilians from the military zones established in Washington, Oregon, and California during WWII. This led to the forced removal and incarceration of some 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast, who had to abandon their jobs, their homes, and their lives to be sent to one of ten concentration camps scattered in desolate, remote regions of the country” (Japanese American Citizens League).
No Japanese Americans were ever charged, much less convicted, of espionage or sabotage against the United States. Yet they were targeted, rounded up, and imprisoned for years, simply for having the “face of the enemy.”
Every February, the Japanese American community commemorates Executive Order 9066 as a reminder of the impact the incarceration experience has had on our families, our community, and our country. It is an opportunity to educate others on the fragility of civil liberties in times of crisis, and the importance of remaining vigilant in protecting the rights and freedoms of all.
To honor this year’s Day of Remembrance the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement (DICE) in partnership with the Office of Alumni Engagement will host as part of the “Conversations That Matter” speaker series— a special conversation with Joseph T. Okimoto, MD D’60, MED’ 61. Dr. Okimoto will share his personal account about the Japanese American incarceration during World Work II and his dedication to preventing similar modern day human rights abuses— “A Physician’s Journey of Hope and Healing.”
Dr. Okimoto is a retired Medical Director at the Asian Counseling and Referral Service and retired Medical Director at the Eating Disorder Unit at Swedish Hospital in Seattle, Washington. This conversation will be moderated by Charmaine San Yee Chan, DO, Program Director, Designated Institutional Official, Director of Osteopathic Education at Nazareth Hospital and St. Mary Medical Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Conversations that Matter Speaker Series Archive at Geisel School of Medicine