Kamidoi, Mary (3/31/2023)

Kamidoi, Mary (3/31/2023)

Mary Kamidoi, a nisei who resettled in Missouri and then Flint, MI after being released from incarceration, discusses her involvement with the Detroit chapter of the JACL from the 1950s to the present. A longtime employee of Ford Motor Company, she recounts numerous experiences of racism, discrimination, and anti-Japanese sentiment in Detroit, largely fueled by auto industry workers' loyalties to American car manufacturers in competition with Japanese manufacturers. She describes the response to the murder of Vincent Chin and the complex social and professional pressures that existed for Japanese Americans and Asian Americans at the time. She also provides details about the redress effort in Detroit and her experience attending the CWRIC hearings in Chicago. An outspoken person from early childhood, she describes many instances of fighting against injustice throughout her life. She shares clear memories of her mother's preparations for incarceration and reflects on the patterns of dispersal and assimilation that prevailed in Detroit during the resettlement era, acknowledging the consequences of this for younger generations who lack strong cultural ties.

2023-03-31

video

Doi, Mary

Kamidoi, Mary

Nisei

Rohwer

Japanese American Citizens League

JACL Detroit chapter

Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians

Northeastern Illinois University

CWRIC Hearings

Vincent Chin murder

Racism

Discrimination

Fear

Ford Motor Company

2750