Removed by Force Shines a Light on the Unjust Treatment of Japanese Americans in Hawai‘i During WWII
William M. Kaneko and Sara N. Lin recount the untold experiences of the 1,500 Japanese Americans evicted in Hawai‘i after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Photo: Courtesy of Legacy Isle Publishing
In the 85 years since World War II, much has been documented about the incarceration of Japanese Americans in internment camps on the U.S. mainland. Now, lawyer and civil rights activist William M. Kaneko and journalist and public policy advocate Sara N. Lin are bringing another lesser-known story to the forefront—the unwritten history of the 1,500 Japanese Americans in Hawai‘i who were ousted at gunpoint from their homes and businesses under the same executive order.
In Removed by Force: The Eviction of Hawai‘i’s Japanese Americans During World War II, releasing this month, Kaneko and Lin detail the unjust events that occurred in the hours immediately after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and in the years to follow. Lives were upended, and many never made it back to their neighborhoods.
Kaneko, who served as president of the Honolulu Japanese American Citizens League from 1990 to 1993, offers a front-row seat to the civil and human rights group’s hard-won, nearly 50-year battle with the U.S. Department of Justice for redress and reparations. The book also chronicles the JACL’s evolution over the years, including its advocacy for same-sex marriage, and transgender and Native Hawaiian rights.
$18.95, 242 pages, legacyislepublishing.com
SEE ALSO: 6 Reasons Why I Loved Chiburu, Lee A. Tonouchi’s New Book About the Hawai‘i-Okinawan Experience
Brie Thalmann is the home and style editor of HONOLULU Magazine.
