Michi Challenges History

January 1, 2023

Gr 7 Up-Mochizuki presents a biography of Michi Nishiura Weglyn, whose fight for justice and acknowledgment of wartime wrongs against Japanese American citizens demonstrates what one motivated individual can achieve in the name of right. The daughter of Japanese immigrants who worked as farmers in California, Weglyn and her family were confined in the Gila River, AZ, internment camp after Pearl Harbor. Mochizuki describes how she continued her education in the internment camp, earning accolades and recognition for her scholastic achievements. Weglyn received a full scholarship to Mount Holyoke, where she discovered her passion for art, fashion, and design. After a difficult round with tuberculosis, she focused on costume design and switched her studies to the Fashion Academy of New York. In New York, she met her husband, Walter Weglyn, a Holocaust survivor. Mochizuki skillfully describes how Weglyn's passion for justice and honesty led to her writing Years of Infamy: The Untold Story of America's Concentration Camps in response to Attorney General Ramsey Clark's 1968 assertion that America had never had concentration camps. The thoroughness and eloquence of her work garnered acclaim and she became a recognized international resource for those seeking redress compensation until her death in 1999. Mochizuki utilizes numerous primary sources to make Weglyn's remarkable life come alive for readers. Back matter includes end notes, selected bibliography, index, and photo acknowledgments. VERDICT Recommended for all readers. Fans of Traci Chee's We Are Not Free will be particularly drawn to this work.-Susan Catlett

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March 15, 2023
Grades 8-11 Born in 1926 to immigrant parents, Michiko Nishiura grew up on the farm her parents operated in California. As Asian immigrants, they were not allowed to own land. In 1942, Michi, her family, and other Japanese Americans were incarcerated at a camp in the Arizona desert, where they endured heat, overcrowded conditions, and "inedible food." In 1944, Michi was allowed to leave to attend college. Her family and others were released in 1945. She later married and, as Michi Nishiura Weglyn, spent years meticulously researching government documents related to "relocation camps" during the war and writing Years of Infamy. She publicly advocated for unjustly imprisoned Japanese Americans to receive reparations, which were eventually granted. In this well-researched book, Mochizuki creates a convincing portrayal of a girl who was brought up to be restrained in her speech and respectful of government officials yet became a forceful woman demanding justice for all. Black-and-white photos depict Michi throughout her life and government documents relevant to the incarceration of Japanese Americans. A detailed biography of a significant American.

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May 1, 2023
A biography of a woman who exposed the government secrets behind Japanese American concentration camps. Michiko Nishiura Weglyn grew up on a farm in California where her Japanese immigrant parents worked. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, her family was taken to the Gila River War Relocation Center in Arizona. In a place where everyone was the same race, Michiko began to find her voice and became a leader in the camp high school. Facing discrimination in college and the professional world, Michiko worked hard to become a costume designer for Broadway and popular television shows. When, in 1968, the U.S. attorney general stated there had never been concentration camps in America, an outraged Michiko dedicated her time to uncovering and publicizing the truth about the Japanese American experience during WWII. Through years of research and writing, Michiko revealed hidden facts about the unjust treatment of Japanese Americans that also aided the redress movement. This well-crafted biography highlights a lesser-known catalyst for Japanese American reparations. Although only briefly mentioned, the treatment of Japanese Americans working in rail and coal and copper mines, as well as Japanese Latin Americans who were taken from their countries to U.S. internment camps, is brought to light through Michiko's advocacy. Using well-chosen quotes from Michiko's book, Years of Infamy (1996), Mochizuki's work will resonate with teens. An eye-opening history of Japanese American treatment during WWII. (photographs, notes, sources, picture credits, index) (Biography. 13-18)

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