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Question
Demonstrate through a reflective journal entry an increased understanding of the topic of challenges of race and the promise of equality in terms of: How does Takaki in Chapters 14-16 describe the changes in status of marginalized people after World War II?(Takaki, R. (2001). A different mirror. Race, Class and Gender: An Anthology, 52-65. ISBN 978-0-
316-02236-1)
Use Microsoft Word or a compatible word processing application to complete this assignment. Format this document using Times New Roman, 12-point font. The document should have 1″ margins and should be two-to-three pages in length, double-spaced.
Answer
Personal Reflection
America was determined to upholding the human rights everywhere and as declared by President Franklin Roosevelt during his speech to Congress in 1941, it believed that when people united for a common purpose they would remain strong. However, in less than a year, this commitment and dream was put into a dilemma following the country the deliberate and sudden attack of the Pearl Harbor Naval Base by the Empire of Japan resulting into 2,388 soldiers and sailors killed, 1,178 wounded, 164 planes destroyed and 21 ships sunk. President Roosevelt asked the Congress to declare a state of war.
As the America prepared for war, of the first target were the people of Japanese ancestry living in the Hawaii Island that some generals recommended for their internment to the mainland. Around 20,000 Japanese were linked to the subversive elements and dubbed dangerous and disloyal. Though there were people with a different view such as General Emmon, the military governor of Hawaii, and the then Attorney General that such an evacuation was against the US Constitution, the operation went on with internment of 1,444 Japanese. It then followed that 1,291, 857 and 147 Japanese, Germans and Italians respectively were put in custody. Mass evacuation of both the alien and non-alien Japanese was conducted and they were forced to surrender their belongings and those who opposed the move were jailed.
Following the end of the WW II, the minority groups were under mistreatment begun reinventing themselves. They remained focused and persistent in seeking equal treatment from those in authority. For instance, Maya, an African American managed to secure a job in San Francisco as a conductorette despite efforts by agency’s receptionist to deny her an opportunity to deliver her application. Jalisco, a Mexican, also secured a job with a steel company in Indiana and following her good performance, the company retained her after the war. Helen Pon, a Chinese-American joined the army as a Nurse Corp where she earned respect for her dedication, and rose to a rank of full colonel. Mary Williams, an African-American, who had had a stillbirth and a poor marriage, experienced a totally new life after advancing her education and joining the army.
After the war, the marginalized groups also engaged in other liberation efforts such as the right to be allowed to serve in the army as the natives did, and took effect when President Reagan signed a bill to this effect noting that the 442nd Combat Team was entirely composed of Japanese Americans who voluntarily and distinctively worked to defend America. The Japanese Americans also gathered to condemn the unfair treatment they underwent through during internment and sought for redress and reparations, which saw each survivor receive $20,000. This minority group also went to the Supreme Court asking for the cancellation of the law that prohibited aliens from owning land. The Court ruled in its favor arguing that such an outright racial discrimination was unconstitutional and the Fourteenth Amendment should be upheld. Additionally, the approach to Naturalization Law of 1790 was rescinded by the Congress to have the minority groups become equal of other Americans and immigrants. This bill was successful as 46,000 Japanese immigrants took their citizenship oaths.
There were also the Mexican-American veterans who formed civil rights organizations to address the discrimination in employment and introduction of an accommodating education system. In 1990s following the global Cold War, other minority groups such as the Jewish and Irish refugees went to America to seek welfare support. The Jewish enjoyed their religion freedom. Additionally, these refugees received fair treatment in employment than they did in the Soviet Union. Additionally, they engaged the immigration authority to receive legal permanent residency in the US.
