The Long Journey Home (ceremonial event) facts for kids

The Long Journey Home was a special event held at the University of Washington on May 18, 2008. It was a ceremony to remember and honor Japanese American students. These students had to leave the university in 1942 because of something called Executive Order 9066. This order forced many Japanese Americans to live in special camps, often called internment camps, in the western United States.

For almost 70 years, many of these students could not come back to the university to finish their studies. Some went to other schools, but others had to stop their education early because of money problems. The University of Washington held this ceremony to show respect for these students. It also aimed to teach people today and in the future about this sad time in history. During the event, there were speakers and videos. The students who were honored that day received special honorary degrees from the University of Washington.

What Was The Long Journey Home?

The Long Journey Home ceremony took place at the University of Washington's main campus. It was held in Kane Hall, in rooms 120 and 130. The event happened on May 18, 2008, from 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM Pacific Standard Time.

How The Ceremony Unfolded

Even though the main ceremony started at 2:00 PM, a group photo was taken earlier. The students being honored gathered in front of the campus's Suzzallo Library around 1:00 PM for pictures.

The main recognition ceremony began at 2:00 PM in Kane Hall. It started with the university's regents entering the hall. The president of the University of Washington, Mark Emmert, led the event. He gave a speech about why this event was important and shared his own thoughts on the internment.

After President Emmert, several other people spoke. These included Norman Mineta, Gail Nomura, and Tetsuden Kashima. Before the honorary degrees were given out, a video was shown. This video shared personal stories from University of Washington students about their experiences in the internment camps. They also talked about how the camps affected their time at the university. The video also included their feelings about "The Long Journey Home" and how it brought a sense of closure to the "long journey" that Japanese Americans had gone through.

Images for kids

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  Japanese American graduating class of 2008