Walt and Milly Woodward:
“Our Constitution Must Not Be Tossed Aside”
Summary:
How can journalism be used as a catalyst for change?
Read about Walt and Milly Woodward, owner/editors of
The Bainbridge Review, a small community newspaper on Bainbridge Island, near Seattle, Washington. The Woodwards used their privilege as educated, middle-class whites to call attention to the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.
At a time when the term Japanese American was not in common usage, the Woodwards used the paper throughout the war to remind Bainbridge Islanders that “Island Japanese” were not the enemy overseas but schoolmates and neighbors with the same constitutional rights as all Americans. The Bainbrdge Review humanized Japanese Americans and helped prepare ground for their eventual return.
Read about the experience of forced removal and incarceration through the words of Japanese American high schoolers who were uprooted from Bainbridge Island to the Manzanar incarceration camp in California and then the Minidoka camp in Idaho. Additionally, readers will understand how Japanese Americans were pushed toward assimilation and US nationalism in order to gain support from white Americans.
Download the complete chapter HERE
Discussion Questions:
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How did Walt and Molly Woodward use their privilege to support the Japanese American community during internment?
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Read pages 9-11 and briefly describe the experience of forced removal.
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How did the incarceration of the Japanese contribute to their assimilation? In what ways was nationalism weaponized?
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In your opinion, what does it mean to “assimilate successfully” (pg 17) and how does this differ from celebrating diversity/creating belonging for various groups of people?
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Reflect on the following quote (pg 18): “Schuyler declared, "When the authors [of the Declaration of Independence] wrote that ‘all men are created equal,’ they meant all white people are created equal.... [W]e’re nuts if we think we can get all people to live together.” Do you agree with Schuyler’s claim? Why or why not? What contemporary views echo these thoughts?