Sarah Okner, a descendant of internees, shares photos and details of daily life in an interment camp, and the profound effects on those living there.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, all Japanese Americans living on the West Coast were forced from their homes into incarceration camps in remote areas of the country. Among the over 120,000 Japanese Americans who were incarcerated, over two-thirds were American-born, many of whom were children. Join historian and librarian Sarah Okner, a descendant of internees, as she shares photos and details of daily life in an interment camp, and the profound effects it had on those living there.
Sarah Okner has been studying the incarceration experience for over 10 years. Her thesis, Relocated Classrooms, explored the education system in the camps. She has guest-lectured at University of Illinois and presented at organizations across the Midwest including libraries, historical societies, and the Buddhist Temple of Chicago. Committed to diversity in children’s literature and educational outreach, she is currently a librarian with Vernon Area Public Library District in Lincolnshire, IL.
This program has been rescheduled from Wednesday, May 25.
