Aiko Herzig- Yoshinaga’s Experiences

AIKO HERZIG- YOSHINAGA’S EXPERIENCES
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Aiko Herzig- Yoshinaga’s Experiences
Aiko Herzig Yoshinaga was one of the political activists and Japanese American detainees during the Second World War. The renowned activist played a significant role in discovering research that would overrule landmark Supreme Court rulings. While her father worked as a vegetable stand, his mother worked in the domestic sphere to raise the children and maintain the household. One of the most luxurious aspects of Aiko’s childhood resulted from her parents, who allowed her to enjoy ballet and dancing lessons. Aiko realized that although her parents struggled to make a living, they allow her to master her craft, which made her feel privileged. However, she experienced different forms of racial prejudice, which made it difficult to fulfill the image of an American top dancer.[Aiko Herzig-YoshinagaInterview, March 20, 1994, Courtesy of Emiko and Chizuko Omori, via Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project (https://densho.org/). Available via Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project (http://ddr.densho.org/interviews/ddr-densho-1002-8-1/).]
Herzig Yoshinaga recalls her experience during a high school party after learning about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Notably, Japanese forces bombed the Harbor, which ushered the United States into World War II. Herzig Yoshinaga describes that she was subjected to extensive prejudice alongside other German Americans and Italian Americans. Japanese immigrants could not apply for citizenship, especially when the United States was at war with the Japanese Empire. Following World War II, Yoshinaga describes growing up experiencing self-hate. Besides, her high school principal revoked high school diplomas from students of Japanese ancestry, including Aiko. During wartime hysteria and paranoia, Aiko and her classmates were castigated based on racial prejudice.[Lee, Ana Paulina. "Memory and Non-Place: Visual Testimonies of Japanese American Internment During World War II." Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies 28, no. 1 (2019): 97-111.] [Komisarchik, Mayya, Maya Sen, and Yamil Velez. "The Political Consequences of Ethnically Targeted Incarceration: Evidence from Japanese-American Internment During WWII." (2020).]
Besides, the activist...