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Wakatsuki Houston visits CSUMB Sept. 28

Talks on ‘what does democracy mean to you?’

Author Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston will visit Cal State Monterey Bay on Sept. 28 as part of a series of talks around the theme, “What does democracy mean to you?”

She will discuss her compelling memoir about her Japanese-American internment experience, “Farewell to Manzanar,” written with her husband James D. Houston, which provides her unique perspective on this chapter in American history. Themes running through the book include the dangers of racial stereotyping and prejudice, the difficulty of discovering your own identity and family relationships. Houston was 7 years old in 1942 when her family was uprooted from their home and fishing business in Long Beach, and relocated to Manzanar in the foothills of California’s Eastern Sierras, taking only the belongings they could carry. It was a time when anti-Japanese hysteria gripped the country. Her story is a lasting reminder of how civil rights are at risk during a national crisis. In her speeches, Mrs. Houston discusses what happened to her and the state of democracy in the United States and the world. Why does the 77-year-old Santa Cruz resident keep up the hectic pace of speeches across the state? She told the Long Beach Press-Telegram, "We must continue to educate people, especially young people. We can't let something like this happen again. Our country is made up of immigrants. We have a Constitution holding us together in the United States. We must use it to be better and to have more humanity."

The first 50 attendees will receive a free copy of Farewell to Manzanar. A book signing will follow the reading and discussion. The free talk will start at 6 p.m. in the University Center ballroom. The University Center is located on Sixth Avenue near B Street. Driving directions and a campus map are available here. The event is sponsored by the Monterey County Free Libraries and Cal Humanities.