California Civil Liberties Public Education Program: Background and History of the Internment
Background and Overview
The California Civil Liberties Public Education Program (CCLPEP) was created with the passage of the California Civil Liberties Public Education Act (AB1915 pdf, html) in 1998. The legislation was authored by AssemblmMember Mike Honda and was renewed in 2000 (AB1914 pdf, html) by Assemblymember George Nakano. In 2003, Assemblymember Wilma Chan and others led the Legislature in making CCLPEP a permanent state program subject to annual budget authorizations.
"The purpose of the California Civil Liberties Public Education Act is to sponsor public educational activities and development of educational materials to ensure that the events surrounding the exclusion, forced removal, and internment of civilians and permanent resident aliens of Japanese ancestry will be remembered, and so that the causes and circumstance of this and similar events may be illuminated and understood." - Education Code Section 13000. (a)
From fiscal year 1998 through fiscal year 1999, CCLPEP awarded 366 grants totaling $8,845,303.
History of the Internment
Prior to World War II, California was home to more Japanese Americans than any other state. On February 19, 1942, just weeks after the United States entered the war, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, giving the Secretary of War the authority “to exclude any and all persons, citizens, and aliens from designated areas in order to provide for security against sabotage and espionage. …” As a result of this executive order, the lives of thousands of Californians were affected.
Over 120,000 U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry and permanent resident aliens from Japan were removed from their homes by the Army and first taken to "assembly centers," which were temporary quarters at racetracks and fairgrounds. They were later taken to "relocation camps," which were bleak barrack camps, mostly in desolate areas of the West. Some families spent ears living under these conditions and suffered enormous personal and economic losses.