Samson, Mary (6/30/2021)

Samson, Mary (6/30/2021)

Mary Samson, a sansei born in Chicago in 1955, discusses the impact of incarceration on her parents, grandparents, and other family members and shares about her own experiences growing up in Chicago and participating in the Redress Movement. She shares what she knows of her parents' pre-war lives in Tacoma, Washington and Sacramento, California and their wartime experiences as young adults at Tule Lake. Included in this interview are stories about her father harvesting sugar beets and her mother and uncle securing early release to resettle in Ohio. Her uncle was eventually drafted into the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and died in combat in Italy, after which her mother encountered racist policies at Ohio cemeteries and made arrangements for his burial at a military cemetery at the Rock Island Arsenal in Rock Island, Illinois. Attending the burial cost Mary's mother her job and housing in Cleveland, and ultimately resulted in her settling in Chicago and reconnecting with Mary's father. Meanwhile, Mary's maternal grandparents elected to repatriate to Japan with two of their daughters, a decision with long-lasting consequences for the family. Reflecting on these experiences, Mary concludes the interview with an expression of hope that younger generations will continue to learn about incarceration and redress as vital lessons on the fragility of democracy.

2021-06-30

video

Lincoln, Emma Saito

Samson, Mary

Sansei

Tule Lake

No-No Boys

442nd Regimental Combat Team

Death in Camp

Repatriation

Cleveland, OH

Cemeteries--Segregation

Pheoll Manufacturing Company

McLean Trucking Company

Japanese Church of Jesus Christ

Devon Church of Jesus Christ

Steinmetz High School

Resettlers Picnics

Redress

National Council for Japanese Americans Redress (NCJAR)

7100