After the signing of Executive Order 9066, authorizing the evacuation of all persons deemed a threat to national security from the west coast to relocation centers further inland, Japanese-American college students were at a loss. The National Japanese American Student Relocation Council managed to move over 4000 students from the internment camps back into colleges in the midwest and along the east coast.
Thirteen of the relocated students came to the Missouri School of Mines. Dr. Larry Gragg and Debra Griffith explore who these students were, examine their success at MSM, and detail the research needed to identify them. This presentation is also an excellent case study on how to use archival resources for original research.
A collaboration between SHSMO-Rolla Research Center and the Missouri S&T Archives, this talk accompanied the Smithsonian traveling poster exhibit, Righting a Wrong: Japanese Americans and World War II that was on display at S&T in fall 2020.
Dr. Larry Gragg is Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus of History at Missouri University of Science & Technology and the author of ten books, including the recently released Forged in Gold: Missouri S&T's First 150 Years which you can order from the SHSMO Online Bookstore.
Debra Griffith is the University Archivist at Missouri University of Science & Technology. Explore more research resources on this topic with her online libguide Righting a Wrong.