For six months in 1942 after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the federal government, in fear of an attack on the West Coast and possible insurgency from Japanese immigrants, ordered Americans of Japanese ancestry to be rounded up without notice and sent to assembly centers for processing — like the one established at Santa Anita — before being relocated to internment camps further from the coast.
The Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum, 380 W. Huntington Dr. (immediately behind Community Center to the east), has an exhibit running from Nov. 10 – Jan. 16 about life at the Santa Anita Japanese Assembly Center.
Video highlights of the Nov. 14 opening reception below, featuring a presentation by several people, including two who share their experiences of having lived in similar reloaction centers. (Also read a previous blog by Scott Hettrick about the misperceptions related to these assembly centers.)
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