Jim Tanimoto

Jim was held at the Tule Lake Segregation Center. In 1943, he refused to answer the so-called “loyalty questionnaire,” and was removed with many other men living in his same block to a nearby former California Conservation Camp (CCC).

Video Timeline

Note: To listen to a specific clip, move the slider on the video to the designated clip time listed below.

00:00 – Introduction

00:18 – Clip 1
Description of life prior to Pearl Harbor and being sent to Tule Lake. Refers to Tule Lake as a concentration camp.

03:34 – Clip 2
Description of the Loyalty questionnaire and his decision not to sign the paper.

06:13 – Clip 3
Description of the segregation of those who did not sign the loyalty questionnaire at Tule Lake and their removal from camp and incarceration in jail.

08:53 – Clip 4
Description of arrival of at the CCC camp – provides brief history of the CCC camp. First encounter with guards.

10:58 – Clip 5
Description of the treatment of the guards at the CCC camp towards the Japanese men who refused to sign the loyalty oath.

14:01 – Clip 6
Description of a positive experience with one of the guards at the CCC camp.

16:23 – Clip 7
Additional information about one of the guards at the CCC camp.

17:18 – Clip 8
Description of his families experience in dealing with racism when they returned. Includes a story about Eleanor Roosevelt.

20:49 – Clip 9
Description of why he became a resistor – based on his education and recognition that the U.S. was not living up to its ideals. Difficulty in leaving everything behind.

24:47 – Clip 10
Description of what happened to the Japanese people upon their return from camp and how their things were stolen.

26:45 – Clip 11
Describes experiences when he returned to Gridley and the racism he and his family experienced including an incident with his former coach.

31:33 – Clip 12
Describes an experience in Montana at Custer’s monument with an American Indian – explores the importance of telling his story.

35:27 – Credits


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