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WE HEREBY REFUSE: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration Paperback – May 18, 2021

by Frank Abe (Author), Tamiko Nimura (Author), Ross Ishikawa (Illustrator),

4.8 109 ratings

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"Deftly upends the compliant narrative with impeccably documented stories of resistance and rebellion ... Made urgent yet again, the trio’s courageous refusals to accept the U.S.―their!―government’s heinous miscarriage of justice should irrefutably embolden new generations ... Their collective history will resonate with older teens. Also highly recommended for high-school and college classrooms." ― Terry Hong, Booklist
“It leaves you simultaneously furious, questioning ideas of loyalty and citizenship … and deeply moved. May all of us learn, and share, these stories." ― Moira Macdonald, The Seattle Times
Three voices. Three acts of defiance. One mass injustice.
The story of camp as you’ve never seen it before. Japanese Americans complied when evicted from their homes in World War II -- but many refused to submit to imprisonment in American concentration camps without a fight.
In this groundbreaking graphic novel, meet JIM AKUTSU, the inspiration for John Okada’s No-No Boy, who refuses to be drafted from the camp at Minidoka when classified as a non-citizen, an enemy alien; HIROSHI KASHIWAGI, who resists government pressure to sign a loyalty oath at Tule Lake, but yields to family pressure to renounce his U.S. citizenship; and MITSUYE ENDO, a reluctant recruit to a lawsuit contesting her imprisonment, who refuses a chance to leave the camp at Topaz so that her case could reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
Based upon painstaking research, We Hereby Refuse presents an original vision of America’s past with disturbing links to the American present.

Print length

160 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Chin Music Press Inc.
Publication date

May 18, 2021
Reading age

13 - 17 years
Dimensions

6.75 x 0.5 x 10 inches
ISBN-10

163405976X
ISBN-13

978-1634059763
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Frank Abe is writer/director of the film on the largest organized resistance to incarceration, Conscience and the Constitution (PBS), and co-editor of JOHN OKADA: The Life and Rediscovered Work of the Author of No-No Boy (University of Washington Press). He has gathered the stories of camp resistance ever since playing a JACL leader in the 1976 NBC-TV movie, Farewell to Manzanar. He blogs at resisters.com.

Tamiko Nimura is an Asian American (Sansei/Pinay) writer living in Tacoma, Washington. Her training in literature and American ethnic studies (MA, PhD, University of Washington) prepared her to research, document, and tell the stories of people of color. She can be found at http://www.tamikonimura.net.

Ross Ishikawa is a cartoonist and animator living in Seattle. In addition to his work on We Hereby Refuse, he is working on a graphic novel about his parents and their coming of age during World War II. His work is online at rossishikawa.com.

Matt Sasaki is the artist on Fighting for America: Nisei Soldiers. He lives with his wife and an old dog north of Seattle. Samples of his other work are online at mattsasaki.com.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Chin Music Press Inc. (May 18, 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 163405976X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1634059763
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 13 - 17 years
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.75 x 0.5 x 10 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #117,084 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #16 in Teen & Young Adult 20th Century United States History
- #92 in Biographies & History Graphic Novels
- #98 in Asian & Asian Americans Biographies

Customer Reviews:
4.8 109 ratings

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Frank Abe

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FRANK ABE is lead author of the graphic novel, "WE HEREBY REFUSE: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration" (Chin Music Press, 2021), named a Finalist in Creative Nonfiction for the Washington State Book Award. He wrote, produced, and directed the award-winning PBS documentary, "Conscience and the Constitution," on the largest organized resistance to the camps.

He won an American Book Award as co-editor of "JOHN OKADA: The Life & Rediscovered Work of the Author of No-No Boy" (University of Washington Press, 2018), in which he authored the first-ever biography of Okada and traced the origins of his novel. He is currently co-editing "The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration" with Floyd Cheung for Penguin Classics, set for May 2024.

Abe helped produce the first-ever Day of Remembrance in Seattle in 1978 with Frank Chin and Lawson Inada, and together they invented a new Japanese American tradition to reclaim the history of wartime imprisonment and publicly dramatize the campaign for redress. He was an original member of Chin’s Asian American Theater Workshop in San Francisco and studied at the American Conservatory Theater.

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4.8 out of 5

109 global ratings

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Lucy

Great

Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2024

Verified Purchase

This was a purchase for my father-in-law. He really enjoyed it, and plans to share with others.

Helpful

KC

Visceral and haunting

Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2021

Verified Purchase

We Hereby Refuse weaves together the struggle of three individuals caught up in the decision by the US government during WW II to treat all Japanese Americans as “enemies within.“ Betrayed and abused by their own country, each of them struggles to maintain their family and their integrity amid physical and psychological violence; conflicting forces within the community; and confusing, often purposely misleading, information. It tells the story of the wounds that opened up within the Japanese American community in response to this abuse, and the scars that remain to this day. Last but not least, it tells the story of empathy and determination not to stand by silently when others face similar injustice.

Rich in details and illustrations that bring the stories to life, We Hereby Refuse is a compelling must-read for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of this episode in American history, the personal cost of injustice, and the complex choices individuals make to fight against it.

8 people found this helpful

Helpful

Sandy

A page turner. Sets the record straight on important event in American history.

Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2021

Verified Purchase

"We Hereby Refuse" is a graphic novel about the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War 2. It is deeply researched and packed with fascinating details. It explores not only actions of US officials, but tensions within the Japanese American community -- and it does not pull punches on ether subject. One of its authors, Frank Abe, is the producer/director of the award-winning PBS documentary, CONSCIENCE AND THE CONSTITUTION, so it is not surprising the book has a cinematic feel to it. It starts with a jolt, and has the kind of pacing that makes it a page turner. The drawings and graphics are well done. There is a surreal quality to some of the drawings that I find very effective. I hope this book finds its way into high school curriculums. It's an important part of American history and a great cautionary tale for all of us.

13 people found this helpful

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LB

Accurate and engaging

Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2021

Verified Purchase

We Hereby Refuse accurately captures the experiences of three young Japanese Americans as they and their families work to understand the 1942 forced evacuation of Japanese Americans from the West Coast and decide what it means to them to be an American. Their decisions to contest these orders and stand up for their civil and constitutional rights result in difficulties not only with the US government, but within their own Japanese American communities. This graphic novel format is highly engaging and immediately drew me into their dilemmas. The parallels to today’s racial and ethnic profiling make this solid work of scholarship timely.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Louis J. Levy

Brilliantly conceived and executed

Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2022

Verified Purchase

I just finished We Hereby Refuse. The book creates an amazing sense of immediacy and place. I felt like a witness to events as they happened rather than someone reading a history written long after the events occurred. Brilliantly conceived and executed. And so relevant for today's world.

2 people found this helpful

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Bonbon

Level headed and emphatic American history told with moving artwork.

Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2021

Verified Purchase

Level headed American history told with empathy and moving artwork. Includes influencers and impacts overlooked in history lessons. The book traces the lives of three individuals and tells their compelling stories including recognizable places and art that shows how they felt and what they experienced in depth and with fairness. Shows how misconceptions and bias resulted in abhorrent behavior. This is an important work because our country has these same problems because some make judgements instead of making friends.

3 people found this helpful

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Red Amy

Stories We Must Pass On

Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2021

Verified Purchase

This books offers an important layer to the previous narratives of camp life for Japanese Americans during World War II. The portrayal of three historical figures who resisted the limited and cruel options presented to them by the US government offers both witness to historic truths and guidance in our political present. A powerful and deeply moving narrative.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

JMA Hudson Valley

What most people don't know about the WWII Japanese American Internment

Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2021

Verified Purchase

Most stories about how the Japanese-Americans on the West Coast were, purely on the basis of race, forcibly removed from their homes for upwards of three years and made to live under armed guards, speak glowingly of how law-abiding they were, how brave they were to endure this heinous and illegal treatment at the hands of the U.S. government. We rarely hear about those Japanese-Americans who fought back against discrimination and challenged the constitutionality of the mass incarceration. Here are stories of three brave people who, at great personal risk, sought legal remedies to discriminatory practices. Eye-opening and inspiring.

4 people found this helpful

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