From Japanese Internment to "Travel Bans": A Discussion and Film Screening of "And Then They Came for Us"

The AABA and the Asia Society of Texas is pleased to welcome you to a film screening of "And Then They Came for Us" followed by a discussion: "From Japanese Internment to Travel Bans".

Date: Thursday, May 30, 2019

Time:
5:45 p.m. Reception
6:30 p.m. Film Screening (Runtime 49 minutes)
7:30 p.m. Panel Discussion

Place:
1370 Southmore Blvd., Houston, TX 77004

Cost:
Free for AABA members, please RSVP to receive the code. Register here: https://asiasociety.org/texas/events/japanese-internment-travel-bans-discussion-and-film-screening-and-then-they-came-us

Sponsors:
This event is generously sponsored by the following:

UNDERWRITERS

PLATINUM SPONSORS

GOLD SPONSORS

SILVER SPONSORS

See below image and description for more information, hope to see you there!

The documentary And Then They Came for Us seeks to educate audiences about the cultural and political environment that ultimately enabled the internment of Japanese and Japanese-American residents during World War II. While President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066 is now widely recognized as the catalyst for the violation of Japanese Americans' constitutional rights, the film focuses on the cumulative factors that led to the rule of law to be bent in the name of patriotism and national security. Featuring prominent survivors of internment and the advocates who worked to vindicate their rights, the filmmakers "bring history into the present" by drawing parallels to the current risk that another constitutional crisis may occur if a vulnerable community becomes the target of cultural skepticism — specifically, the Muslim community affected by Executive Order 13769, known as the "travel ban."

Following the film, a panel of legal experts and community leaders will provide unique insights into the impact of Japanese internment and how our country may avoid another such crisis. The panel of diverse perspectives will be anchored by the attendance of Fred Korematsu's daughter, Karen Korematsu, and one of his attorneys, Don Tamaki. Mr. Korematsu was the named plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court case Korematsu v. United States of America, now universally understood to be the incorrectly-decided ruling that upheld President Roosevelt's internment order, even in the absence of evidence that the Japanese community was a threat to U.S. national security.

Join Asia Society Texas Center and the Asian American Bar Association of Houston for an insightful discussion, with the hope that diverse community members will learn how they can support one another in preventing history from repeating itself.