250 to 250:100. Ralph Carr and Japanese Internment, Narrated by Jay Kuo

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Ralph Carr and Japanese Internment, Narrated by Jay Kuo

Jay Kuo is a composer, lyricist and two-time Tony winning Broadway producer. He is an appellate lawyer, the CEO of The Social Edge and the author of The Status Kuo, a daily Substack newsletter covering politics and law. Jay is the Chair-elect of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization. Kuo tells how Colorado governor Ralph Carr stood firm in defense of Japanese Americans during World War II internment, even as it cost him his political career.

In December 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.

• About two months later, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066.
• The order led to the forced removal and imprisonment of about 120,000 Japanese Americans.
• Many were U.S. citizens.
• Families had to leave their homes, jobs, businesses, and communities.
• Many were sent to camps surrounded by fences and guards.

Ralph Carr, the governor of Colorado, opposed the unfair treatment of Japanese Americans.

• He believed Japanese American citizens should have the same rights as other U.S. citizens.
• Carr spoke out even when his position was unpopular.
• He believed that taking away their civil rights went against American principles.
• His position hurt his political career, but he continued to defend the rights of Japanese Americans.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz:

• N-400 Part 9:31. Do you support the Constitution and the Form of Government of the United States?
• USCIS 100:43 / 128:61. Who is the governor of your state now?
• USCIS 100:81.   Who did the United States fight in World War II?
• USCIS 128:106. Why did the United States enter World War II?

Family Fun:

• 9 News: Colorado History: Governor Ralph Carr stands up for the rights of all Americans after Pearl Harbor
• AJ+: George Takei Talks Japanese American Incarceration
• Adam J. Schrager: The Principled Politician playlist
• Denver Post: Colorado’s governor Ralph Carr opposed Japanese Americans' internment
• Denver Public Library: Ralph Carr (1887-1950)
• George Takei Oh Myy: Allegiance (Broadway musical) playlist | stream or borrow dvd
• Facing History and Ourselves: Bearing Witness to Japanese American Incarceration
• Japanese American National Museum: Learn
• NPS: Japanese American Incarceration | Amache National Historic Site (near Granada, Colorado)
• PBS: The Principled Politician: A Story of Courage (Ralph Carr) | Before They Take Us Away 
• National Japanese American Memorial Foundation (NJAMF): Learn
• uscitizenpod: Governor Ralph Carr of Colorado coloring page