Daily History Picture: An American Welcome February 9, 2015
Author: Beach Combing | in : Historical Pictures , trackback
Dated to 1923 (1943?? see below), white angst in (West Coast?) America
10 Feb 2015: Leif writes ‘The photograph is from 1942 or 1943, not 1923. What is a poorly dressed woman doing with a professionally painted sign on her house? In the prewar era a woman would wear nice clothes for a photograph, assuming she had them, and prewar anti-Japanese feeling wasn’t that strong at the time. Something doesn’t add up. The photo appears in a display at the Manzanar Concentration Camp, Independence, California. [https://www.flickr.com/photos/matthigh/2073630895/] Part of the museum label is legible in the photo on Flickr. It begins: “Herd ’em up, pack ’em off, and give ’em the inside room in the badlands…” Japanese living in California– including many born over here– were sent to internment camps starting in 1942, where they remained until VJ day in August 1945. I would guess this house was on the route the Japanese took to an internment camp, and woman let the sign be displayed on her house as a patriotic gesture. Those who would interpret this as simple racism might consider that America was losing the war when this photo was made. Sad time.’ Thanks Leif!
