Come hear Sam Mihara’s incredible tale of survival from Heart Mountain Detention Camp in Wyoming in the 1940s. He will share his powerful story of heartbreak and resilience on Wednesday, Sept. 5 at the Palmetto Theater from 11 am to 12:15 pm and then from 7 pm to 8:30 pm.
Mr. Mihara has a strong passion for speaking out against dehumanization and mass imprisonment, especially of children.
In the last five years, Mr. Mihara has spoken to over 50,000 students and teachers throughout the United States. In his Memories of Heart Mountain presentation, he discusses the experiences of the Japanese Americans who were imprisoned and how the lessons learned from this bleak period in our country’s history apply to help solve today’s immigration issues.
On April 20, the National Council for History Education (NCHE) delivered to Mr. Mihara its 2018 Paul A. Gagnon Prize at a national conference of history teachers in San Antonio where he also gave the keynote speech. The annual award is given to an individual or group who has made a significant contribution to history education. Sam received the award for his ongoing work lecturing about his imprisonment as a child at Heart Mountain camp during World War II. Mr. Mihara is the first Japanese American to receive the award.
Neil Lewis, one of the co-coordinators of NVC’s Peace & Conflict Studies program, said “we are excited to bring Mr. Mihara here to NVC not only because his incredible connection to history, but because Mr. Mihara advocates for those who often don’t have enough advocates. Mr. Mihara knows what it’s like for a society and government to turn its back on a group of people and can make connections between his own experiences and those experiences of those who have been recently been separated from their families by the US government, or those who are seeking asylum and been dehumanized by politicians and the media because of their religion.”
The event is sponsored by the NVC Peace & Conflict Studies program with funding from the NVC Student Activity Fee.
