This month, we have two topics we are excited to share with you:

Starting in February, Lunar New Year traditions rooted in various Asian cultures will bring families and communities together across the United States and around the world.

It is important to remember that not all Asian communities officially observe a singular New Year holiday. Japanese and Japanese American traditions celebrate the New Year on January 1, a tradition following the Gregorian calendar since the 1870s. Several Central Asian cultures celebrate the New Year in March, following lunisolar calendars, and many South and Southeast Asian cultures follow a solar new year calendar, bringing celebrations of the New Year in April.

In 2015, we created a series of fun facts about the history of Lunar New Year celebrations in the United States. To learn more about how this holiday has been celebrated, from Montana to New York, check out the Smithsonian Pinterest page!

This is a portrait of Fred T. Korematsu from the National Portrait Gallery. Let’s read the exhibition label to learn more about him:

Fred T. Korematsu fought a lifelong struggle to right an injustice that the United States government brought upon thousands of Japanese American citizens. Korematsu was a welder on the Oakland docks before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing West Coast military commanders to issue whatever orders they thought were necessary for national security. The forced relocation of Japanese Americans into “internment” camps soon followed. Korematsu defied the order, was sent to federal prison, and was later incarcerated with his family in a camp. Korematsu, with the aid of the American Civil Liberties Union, challenged the legality of the detention, but it was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1944. In 1983 he petitioned to reopen the case, arguing that the government knew that Japanese Americans were not a security threat. A lower court found in his favor, and his conviction was overturned. In 1988 Congress apologized for the interments and awarded each survivor $20,000.

 

Korematsu famously said, “If you have a feeling that something is wrong, don’t be afraid to speak up.” Using this quote and the exhibition text, consider the prompt and questions below for classroom discussions, writing assignments, or art projects about speaking up.

Think of a time where you felt it was difficult to speak up. Why was it difficult to speak up?
Looking back, what would you do differently?


We would love to know how these conversations go in your classroom. Please email us at APAC@si.edu to share your experiences!

We are planning to share resources and narratives about Pacific Islander, Desi and Southeast Asian communities.

If you have a topic you would like to learn more about, please feel free to contact us at APAC@si.edu and write “Learning Together” in the subject line.

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