Faculty in the News: "UR Exhibit Shows Lessons of Japanese-American Internment Camps"

"The exhibit ['Internment: The Japanese-American Experience in World War II'] was organized by Joanne Bernardi, associate professor of Japanese and film and media studies.... Included in the exhibit are postcards and button pins from World War II that are part of Bernardi's collection, such as the ones using words and phrases that are examples of the insensitive mindset of the time.... Bernardi was prompted to put together such an exhibit a year ago after hearing the then-mayor of Roanoke, Virginia, David Bowers, cite the use of internment camps for Japanese-Americans during World War II to justify suspending the relocation of Syrian refugees in his city. 'I was shocked because he didn't know his history of internment and what it signified. It was a knee-jerk reaction to an atmosphere of fear, xenophobia and racism, prompted by Pearl Harbor,' said Bernardi."