Westheimer: Exhibition Opening and Talk: "Am I an American or Am I not?" The Japanese American Detention, 1942-1944: Moderated by Paige Skaff, Kent State University

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Session description:
We welcome you for the opening of the "Am I an American or Am I Not?" exhibition, a special traveling exhibition courtesy the Fred T. Korematsu Institute. The opening will include a dialogue with Jane Katsuyama, a U.S. citizen who was unjustly incarcerated with her family from 1942-1944. During the exhibition opening and the dialogue, we will focus on the history of unconstitutional Japanese American incarceration in the United States and the connections to present issues of U.S. immigration detention through a historical lens. You will hear about Jane and her family’s experience of internment and also how these experiences connect to the present. 

Session facilitator/presenter bios:
Jane Katsuyama, is a cellist and community leader in Dayton, Ohio. Born in California to first-generation Japanese-American parents, Jane was forcibly removed, along with her mother and baby sister, from her California home when she was a toddler to a detainee camp at Poston, Arizona in the 1940’s.  Her father was imprisoned, then later joined his family at the camp. This experience formed some of her early memories and inspired her to speak up for the rights of all.  Jane made her way to Dayton with her husband Ron in the 1970’s. Jane has performed as the principal cellist with ensembles such as the Dayton Philharmonic and the Wright State University Symphony orchestras. An experienced educator, she also has taught at the University of Dayton, Stivers School for the Arts, and the Miami Valley School among others. Jane has served as the President of the Japanese American Citizens League and the National Japanese American Citizens League Legacy Fund Committee, and has held positions on the Kettering and Montgomery County Arts Boards, among others.

Paige Skaff is an advocate and catalyst for radical change. She is currently a direct doctoral student at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, studying Political Science with a concentration in Conflict Analysis and Management and a secondary track in Transnational and Comparative Politics and Policy. Her interests span a broad range of disciplines including migration studies, and critical theory – feminist, queer, crip, decolonial, discourse analysis. Her work professionally and academically focuses on vulnerability, victimization, and bodily violence, and how discourse and rhetoric contribute to human behavior. She is a certified forensic interviewer specializing in child sex crimes and has managed a rape crisis and child advocacy center, as well as use these skills to serve migrant victim of crimes with a resettlement agency. Paige is committed to continuing her education and efforts toward radical reconstruction for violence and victimization.  

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