The Similarities Of African Americans And Japanese Americans During World War II

Walt Disney once said, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” This means that in order to make a change in your life, you have to work hard and have enough determination and strength to achieve it, both mentally and physically. This quote can resonate with many people, as it applies to anything that you want to accomplish. It can apply to goals in school, at home, and anything in between. This also exists for important figures in history. For many of them, in order to make a difference they had to have bravery and grit. Although many groups’ drives to create a difference were similar, the way they have gone to achieve it has differed. Even though African Americans and Japanese Americans during WWII seem very

First, both groups had similar struggles. African Americans struggled with endless racism. Segregation and disrespect followed them everywhere they went. Many would go through their entire life seeing segregated bathrooms, restaurants, water fountains, and more. Similarly, Japanese Americans also faced a lot of racism. During World War II, Executive Order 9066 declared that it would become legal for them to get sent to internment camps. Although they had committed no crimes, they had to endure the camps simply because they came from Japanese descent. Second, both groups wanted equality. The African Americans grew tired of the racism and segregation and wanted to do something about it. Instead of fighting fire with fire, they decided to practice peaceful and nonviolent protests. Eventually, their protests caught more attraction and they managed to change many laws and the views of many people. Japanese Americans also wanted fair treatment. They had to live in the camps unrightfully without a trial or judgment and only wanted a chance to prove themselves. Monica Sone in “Camp Harmony” describes her own anger and frustration towards the whole ordeal, saying, “What was I doing here behind a fence, like a criminal? If there were accusations to be made, why hadn’t I been given a fair trial?” Their struggles and wants remain as some of the things that African Americans and

First, both groups had different amounts of freedom. African Americans had the privilege to go to work, school, and just about everywhere, despite segregation. They still had the freedom to leave their houses and go out with family and friends. Japanese Americans, though, could not say the same. They had to stay confined behind a wire fence and could not go to their jobs, schools, or anywhere outside of the camp. Even though both groups shared some struggles, differences also occurred. African Americans struggled with violence against them and getting arrested. Throughout their protests, although they always remained peaceful and never caused anyone any harm, they would get arrested continuously. In the short story “The Power of Nonviolence”, John Lewis says “They didn’t arrest a single person that beat us, but they arrested all of us and charged us with disorderly conduct.” He goes on to say that it became the first mass arrest from their sit-ins and over 100 protesters got put in jail. On the other hand, Japanese Americans struggled with laws from the American Government and their language barrier. The Executive Order kept them confined, and nothing they did would help them leave the camps. In addition, many of the older Japanese Americans did not understand English. For the majority of their stay at the camps, they did not have much information about what had happened. Although both African