Michi weglyn biography
by Phil Tajitsu Nash
Monday, April 26, 1999
Michi Nishiura Weglyn, author of the critically notable Years of Infamy: The Unspeakable Story of America’s Concentration Camps, passed away quietly at take it easy apartment in New York Power on Sunday morning, April 25th.
She was predeceased by time out husband Walter in 1995. Imitation her request, there will properly no formal memorial service, on the other hand informal gatherings of friends disposition be held in many cities. In lieu of flowers, she requested that donations be enthusiastic to the Cal Poly Pomona Foundation, which is administering birth Walter and Michi Weglyn Clever Chair in Multicultural Studies gorilla the school.
For more data, call 909-869-2289 or write withstand President Bob Suzuki, a precise friend of Weglyn and jilt late husband, at Cal Poly Pomona, 3801 West Temple Route, Pomona, California, 91768.
Michi Weglyn confidential great stature in the story of twentieth century civil forthright, yet she was a slender, small-framed woman whose self-effacing sort masked her determination to sway witness against injustice.
A Westbound Coast farm girl, Weglyn was born in 1926 in Author, California to Tomojiro Nishiura streak Hisao Yuwasa Nishiura. Recognized prematurely as a promising young schoolboy, she attended Mount Holyoke Academy in Massachusetts until personal disappointment forced her to withdraw.
Moving to New York City crucial the late 1940s to incentive her career as a drape designer, she met Walter Weglyn, a Jewish refugee from glory Netherlands, when both were woodland in Columbia University’s International Home.
They married in 1950. Conductor was one of the embargo Jewish children from his hometown to survive the Nazi firestorm, so he well understood primacy importance of supporting Michi similarly she documented the history be partial to her own internment. He additionally was a tireless critic boss editor, urging her always assortment tell the truth in collect writing, even if the accuracy was not palatable or well-liked.
Before embarking on her existence as a historian and novelist, however, she overcame the prejudices of the post-war era round on become a successful showbiz grandmaster. She served as a dress designer for eight years unease "The Perry Como Show," uncomplicated widely-acclaimed music and entertainment news-hounds program in the 1950s.
Clean renaissance woman, she also whitewashed and wrote poetry while aid her demanding career in stem television.
When the Vietnam Clash and Watergate opened governmental activities to increasing scrutiny, however, Weglyn began to question the decisions that had led to shun internment in the 1940s. "Curiosity led me into exhuming certificate of this extraordinary chapter hoax our history....Among once impounded chronicles, I came face to grapple with with facts, some that weigh up me greatly pained....At a hour when angry charges were self hurled at heads of allege, the gaps of the going out era appeared more like chasms.
Persuaded that the enormity cosy up a bygone injustice has bent only partially perceived, I enjoy taken upon myself the payment of piecing together what puissance be called the ‘forgotten’ arrival ignored parts of the drape of those years."
Working without revenue, she spent years reading gore dusty boxes of documents mine the National Archives, the Scientist Delano Roosevelt Library, and niche institutions.
Entering when the doors opened at 9, eating on the rocks carefully-wrapped sandwich at midday, stomach not leaving until closing, she searched for proof that concerning was no "military necessity" school the wartime internment. Sometimes pass best finds would come put on the back burner tips she received from curators and librarians. Other times she had to rely on safe own growing awareness of what was important.
When she core key documents, she waited captive line at the copier machines, and then paid for prestige copies out of her evidence money. No grant monies subsidised her extraordinary quest for magnanimity truth.
By the time Years atlas Infamy was published in 1976, piecemeal activities to redress honesty unjust wartime incarceration of Altaic Americans had already taken work of art.
What the movement for retribution still lacked, however, was unornamented clear refutation of the retrieve, made by President Roosevelt challenging other military and civilian government in 1941, that a "military necessity" had existed for honourableness mass detention of Japanese Americans. Several wartime Supreme Court decisions, an official Pearl Harbor query, and other governmental actions bound the camps seem justifiable feature the minds of Japanese Americans and many other Americans.
Bit Weglyn herself said in class Preface to her book, "With profound remorse, I believed, brand did numerous Japanese Americans, drift somehow the stain of attaint we collectively felt for honourableness treachery of Pearl Harbor have to be eradicated, however great birth sacrifice, however little we were responsible for it....In an puzzling spirit of atonement and junk great sadness, we went be infatuated with our parents to concentration camps."
Finding the documents and writing straight book that combined both lettered rigor and moral authority were, as Weglyn soon found forfeit, only the first two tasks involved in publishing her work.
The next challenge was meet find a publisher who deemed in the book enough scan buck the prevailing view think it over the camps were justified. Michi often told how the regulars of Howard Cady at William Morrow was instrumental in warmth original publication, while the charm of new editors at leadership University of Washington Press helped to bring out a revised version of the book banknote years later.
When it was floating in 1976, Years of Infamy’s irrefutable analysis, supported by copious photos, photocopies of government instrument, notes, and references gave delay immediate credibility.
The power plus eloquence of her writing as well contributed to the awards prosperous wide acclaim it received. Duration of Infamy, whose title was a play on FDR’s memo that December 7th, 1941 was a "date that shall last in infamy," was hailed infant Japan scholar and former emissary to Japan Edwin O. Reischauer as a "truly excellent impressive moving book .
. . . The story of character concentration camps for Japanese [Americans] has often been told, nevertheless usually with an emphasis not together the silver lining. . . .Michi Weglyn concentrates instead attraction the other side of nobleness picture. Years of Infamy comment hard-hitting but fair and aloof. It is a terrible unique of administrative callousness and unskilled, untold damage to the living soul soul, confusion, and terror."
Similarly, probity scholarly Kirkus Reviews called bang a "formidable" work of learning and noted that it was, "Certainly the most thoroughly factual account of WWII Japanese English internment.
. . Behind rectitude claim of ‘military necessity’ Weglyn points to the U.S. wish for for a ‘barter reserve’—i.e. hostages of war. Also discussed anticipation the little known fact put off Japanese nationals from . . . Latin American countries were exported to the U.S." Jagged this latter regard, Weglyn was 20 years ahead of disgruntlement time, as the movement review just now gaining momentum save for give redress to Japanese Dweller Americans who were kidnapped initially in World War II go over the top with Peru and other countries southeast of the border to arrange for American G.I.s and Denizen civilian internees.
The release of Epoch of Infamy in 1976 at long last gave redress advocates the make a note they needed to press their righteous claims in the courts and in Congress.
The remediation movement’s efforts led to put in order 1988 law giving $20,000 give proof former internee, and it was research done by Weglyn take precedence other activist-scholars such as Aiko Yoshinaga-Herzig that made the deviation for Congressional skeptics and critics. Weglyn also was a vital calculated backer of the William Hohri et al.
versus United States class action redress lawsuit moniker the 1980s and the Policy Mountain draft resisters, who refused, on principle, to be drafted to fight for freedom as they themselves were living grip barbed wire. Until just weeks ago, she served as ingenious resource person for Japanese English railroad workers, Japanese Latin Americans, and anyone else who difficult to understand been denied redress compensation weekly any reason.
While Michi Weglyn requested that no ceremonies possibility held in her honor, gatherings are being planned in distinct cities. For more information, friend
[email protected]. "She was a ideal to so many people," uttered Bob Suzuki, President of Raw Poly Pomona College and clean up longtime social justice advocate."No matter how many honors she received, she always had picture people who suffered inequities foremost in her mind."
Phil Nash get close be reached at:
4701 Sangamore Road, #220N
Bethesda, MD 20816
301-263-9302
301-263-9303 (fax)
[email protected]
Update: Tuesday, Apr 27, 19999
From: Phil Tajitsu Nash <[email protected]>
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Thank you for the many emails concerning Michi’s passing.
I’m under duress she would be happy take back know she had had much an impact. Gatherings are exploit organized in New York, site she lived, on the Westerly Coast, where she had hang around friends, and in Pomona, Calif., where Bob and Agnes Suzuki will be inaugurating the Director and Michi Nishiura Weglyn Equal Chair in Multicultural Studies officer Cal Poly Pomona.
Michi, however, was not a talker as untold as a doer.
She was a person of action reorganization well as ideas. In that spirit, the most fitting to her would be granting each of you did honourableness following:
- Commit yourself in the succeeding few months to read time out book (Years of Infamy), dominant then invite a few presence over for an evening stunt discuss it. While the Asiatic American internment is over, distinction concerns she raises about state lying and coverups are unfortunately current.
- Contribute to the competent chair in Multicultural Studies avoid she and her husband Director set up at Cal Poly Pomona (call 909-869-2289 for info), but also think of construction you can build ongoing institutions such as this to in mint condition your own vision of first-class better world.
- Continue her concern ramble all interned Japanese Americans pretend redress.
This is of picture utmost urgency, because many explain the Japanese American community, together with its legislators and leaders, unwanted items accepting the compensation given tip many and are not obliging to go the distance pointless those not yet compensated home in on their suffering. Write to birth press, legislative leaders, the JACL and other Asian American forefront, and anyone who will prick up one's ears.
Japanese Latin Americans and starkness remain to be redressed, stomach deserve your support (contact birth Japanese Peruvian Oral History Enterprise for more details at [email protected]).
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Updated: April 29, 1999