The Remembrance Project PSA ft. George Takei, Steve Aoki, Marie Digby... and ME!
A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of taking part in this PSA organized by the Japanese American National Museum, The Remembrance Project. The Remembrance Project is "a pioneering effort to build a permanent "living museum" online featuring the stories of those whose lives were forever changed by the signing of Executive Order 9066 by President Roosevelt on February 19, 1942", which led to the internment of 285,000 people of Japanese ancestry residing in the U.S. and abroad.
Being a 5th generation Japanese American, this Executive Order may have not had a direct impact on me personally today, but it has definitely affected my family of previous generations. During WWII, my grandfathers voluntarily fought FOR THE United States rather than be subjected to internment, with one of the earning the Purple Heart fighting for the famous United States 442nd regiment. People tend to only learn about the negative sides of Japan's attack and often overlook, or are rather under-educated, on how Americans citizens of Japanese ancestry already living in the United States were affected. The purpose of this Remembrance Project is to bring to light these stories of these Japanese American citizens, and how their lives were changed by this Executive Order.
Please take the time to learn more about this project at their official site http://remembrance-project.org.
Featuring George Takei, Marie Digby, Steve Aoki, David Ono, Norman Mineta, Scott Yoshimoto, Dawen, Traci Kato-Kiriyama, and Morgan Marcell Matayoshi.
Thank you to the support of the Remembrance Project Major Sponsors:
Guy & Audrey Watanabe
Ernest Y. & Kiyo Doizaki
ABC Stores
Daruma Asset Management
First Hawaiian Bank
Director/Producer/Editor: Tony Au
Director of Photography: Joe Cheung
Camera Operators: Vu Hoang, Kyle Neary, John Esaki (JANM Watase Media Arts Center)
1st Assistant Director: Jason Hampton
Best Boy: Mike Lim
Sound Recordist: Geoff Goodloe
Hair/Make-Up: Kate Broadhurst, Mimi Chau, Allison Bryan
Production Assistant: Derek Kirk Kim
Original score by Devcon