Who advocated for Japanese Americans during World War II and what motivated them? What made them act when most didn’t? What are lessons we can learn from the past to become advocates and allies for those who are facing injustice now?

In conjunction with the closing of the exhibition Sutra and Bible: Faith and the Japanese American WWII Incarceration, scholars and activists will join together to discuss allies past and present, what inspires them, and how we can become good neighbors to each other. Scholars Jonathan Van Harmelen (PhD Candidate, UC Santa Cruz), Anne Blankenship (Associate Professor, North Dakota State University) and Beth Hessel (Director, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia) will highlight those outside the Japanese American community who acted in support of those incarcerated during the war. Reverend Deborah Lee (Executive Director, Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity) will be joined by Guillermo Torres (Immigration Program Director, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice) to discuss their work at the intersection of spirituality and social movements to defend the humanity of immigrants incarcerated today.