BERKELEY — The UC Berkeley Nikkei Student Union and Muslim Student Association will co-present a Day of Remembrance program on Friday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m. in the Multicultural Community Center, located on the second floor of the MLK Student Union, Bancroft Way and Telegraph Avenue on campus.

Day of Remembrance is an educational event that commemorates the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II, and stresses the importance of unity and solidarity among minority groups so that such injustices cannot happen again.

Day of Remembrance events are traditionally held on or around Feb. 19 to serve as a reminder of the signing of Executive Order 9066 in 1942, which allowed the internment.

The event is open to the general public and is especially designed for students of color and other minority groups to attend. This year marks the 68th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066, as well as the second annual collaboration between the Nikkei Student Union and the Muslim Student Association.

This year's theme is "I Am American." It seeks to explain why the story of the Japanese American experience is still relevant and important today, not only for Japanese Americans, but for all people. It stresses the significance of remembering this event, as injustices are still occurring today, such as in the Japanese Latin American communities and the Muslim American communities.

It also explains steps being taken to educate the public and fight against injustice, such as pilgrimages to sites of internment camps, other Day of Remembrance programs, and campaigns for redress.
This year’s event will feature:

• Professor Emeritus James Hirabayashi, first dean of ethnic studies at San Francisco State University;

• A screening of “Hidden Internment: The Art Shibayama Story”;

•
 Stephanie Miyashiro, activist and member of Campaign for Justice;

•
 Professor Hatem Bazian, of UC Berkeley’s Department of Ethnic Studies and Department of Near Eastern Studies.

Refreshments will be served at the end of the event, which is also supported by the Berkeley JACL.

Event contact: maekawab@berkeley.edu. For more information on the Nikkei Student Union, visit http://nsu.berkeley.edu.