Enmity and Empathy: Japanese Americans in Minnesota During World War II with Dr. Ka Wong
Schedule
Thu, 19 Mar, 2026 at 06:00 pm
UTC-05:00Location
1814 2nd Ave NW, Faribault, MN, United States, Minnesota 55021 | Faribault, MN
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Join RCHS and Dr. Ka Wong for a talk on the forced eviction and confinement of Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor on March 19th at 6pm at the RCHS museum.The forced eviction and confinement of Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor in 1941 was one of the worst civil rights violations of the twentieth century, and the repercussions were numerous. The effect in Minnesota was dramatic: only fifty-one Japanese American people lived in the state in 1940, but by war’s end there were several thousand.
Drawing on personal interviews, archival sources, and historical literature, Professor Ka Wong explores the courageous struggles of trailblazers who left the incarceration camps and rebuilt their lives in the North Star State, overcoming hostility and hardship along the way. Despite the enmity ignited by war hysteria, bonds of empathy developed between the resettlers and allies who advocated for them personally and professionally.
Dr. Wong highlights the multiple ways in which Japanese American people transformed both wartime Minnesota and their own lives, including narratives of college students pursuing higher education, including the two colleges in Rice County, young men and women training at the Military Intelligence Service Language School at Camp Savage and then Fort Snelling, the US Cadet Nurse Corps serving in Rochester hospitals, and entrepreneurial families and individuals in the Twin Cities and beyond. The experiences of Japanese Americans and their allies fighting discrimination in wartime Minnesota demonstrate how diverse groups stood together amidst the turmoil—a legacy relevant in today’s divisive world.
Ka Wong is professor of Asian Studies at St. Olaf College. His fourth book Enmity and Empathy: Japanese Americans in Minnesota During World War II (Minnesota Historical Society) was published in May 2025. Wong lives near Northfield, Minnesota.
Call 507-332-2121 to reserve your spot. Talks are free for members, $5 for nonmembers.
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Where is it happening?
1814 2nd Ave NW, Faribault, MN, United States, Minnesota 55021Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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