PARTNER

INTERVIEW ID

ddr-densho-1000-53

NARRATOR

Henry Miyatake

INTERVIEW TITLE

Henry Miyatake Interview I

01:59:00 — 23 segments

DESCRIPTION

Nisei male. Born April 28, 1929, in Seattle, Washington. Incarcerated at Puyallup Assembly Center and Minidoka concentration camp, Idaho. Had some key childhood experiences with discrimination that made him a self-described, "independent thinker," and later, an influential figure in the Japanese American community. While a teenager in camp, he wrote and defended an essay criticizing the United States' treatment of racial minorities. His teacher refused to accept his paper, resulting in a failed grade and preventing him from graduating. Postwar, served in the U.S. Counterintelligence Corps, where he was privy to classified documents detailing the placement of spies in the incarceration camps. After leaving the military, he worked at the Boeing Company, where he fought against discriminatory workplace practices. He was also one of the earliest proponents of redress, doing the research, planning, and organizing for the "Seattle plan," the first highly developed plan for obtaining redress from the U.S. government for the WWII incarceration of the Japanese American community.

PRODUCTION

Tom Ikeda, interviewer; Matt Emery, videographer

PERSONS/ORGANIZATIONS

• Miyatake, Jiro Henry

CONTRIBUTOR

Densho

PREFERRED CITATION

Courtesy of Densho

RIGHTS