Talk on Japanese internment at Oakton

The anti-Japanese hysteria that swept the United States after Dec. 7, 1941, will be the topic of a free lecture 12-1:30 p.m. Thursday, April 26, in Room 1610 at Oakton Community College, 1600 E. Golf Road, Des Plaines.

“The History and Remembrance: The Internment of Japanese-Americans 1941-1946” will focus on the more than 120,000 people of Japanese descent, two-thirds of them citizens, who were held in internment camps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Panelists include Bill Yoshino, Midwest director of the Japanese-American Citizens League; Chiye Tomihiro, a former internee; and Stephanie Cleveland, an Oakton alumna and graduate student at Roosevelt University. Remarks will also be provided by Oakton faculty, including Tom Hamel, vice president of academic affairs; Brad Wooten, dean of social sciences and business; and Wendy Sarti, professor of history.

The afternoon also will feature a visual documentation of the internment produced by Anthony Stetina under the instruction of Judy Langston, Oakton professor of art and design, and Nathan Harpaz, curator of Oakton’s Koehnline Museum of Art.