National Japanese American Student Relocation Council (NJASRC)

Introduction

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The Nisei Student Relocation Commemorative Fund, established in 1980, memorializes the National Japanese American Students Relocation Council (NJASRC) through scholarships. While they are headquartered in Portland, Connecticut, the Fund assists underserved high school students throughout the United States (Nisei Student Relocation Commemorative Fund).

The forced removal of Japanese American families from their established lives tore Nisei, or second-generation Japanese American, students from their programs. Formed in 1942, the same year of the infamous Executive Order 9066, the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council (NJASRC) established partnerships with colleges and universities around the country, providing Nisei students the opportunity to receive a higher education. In its first year of operation, the NJASRC established connections with 112 academic institutions around the country (Letter from Conrad, Sept. 2, 1942). Nisei students faced a difficult entrance process to approved institutions. Each Japanese American student had to be investigated and cleared by the Navy, the Army, the FBI, and the War Relocation Authority before their admittance to an approved university (Letter from Young, Aug. 28, 1942). Students also had to obtain a travel visa to travel outside of their designated incarceration center. Approved institutions stretched across the United States, with a significant amount located in the Midwest.

While the NJASRC allowed Nisei students the opportunity to pursue higher education, the organization had an additional motive for its creation. The NJASRC worked to encourage better public relations between Nisei students and the general populace. The organization expected Nisei students to serve as a representative of the Japanese American community (Ito 2). Thus, high achieving students with exceptional backgrounds were approved for participation. Although there were instances of pushback from communities, the program saw success through the students, building rapport within communities that would not otherwise have such connections with Japanese Americans.

Images

List of Colleges approved by the Army and Navy for placement of Nisei Students, Sept. 2, 1942

Font, Material property, Paper, Paper product

"Bulleting titled The Need for Relocation of Students," May 16, 1942, Page 1

"Bulleting titled The Need for Relocation of Students," May 16, 1942, Page 2

"Bulleting titled The Need for Relocation of Students," May 16, 1942, Page 3

"Bulleting titled The Need for Relocation of Students," May 16, 1942, Page 4

Sources

“Attachment included a listing of all the Colleges and Universities that had been approved, as of Sept. 1942, to enroll Nisei students,” letter from Joseph Conrad, Sept. 2, 1942. Located in Francis Fishburn Archives and Special Collections, Park University Nisei Collection, Park University, Parkville, MO, ID: PC-L-1942.1.567.

Hayashi, Brian Masaru. Democratizing the Enemy: The Japanese American Internment. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2008.

Ito, Leslie A. “Japanese American Women and the Student Relocation Movement, 1942-1945.” Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies 21, no. 3 (2000): 1–24. https://doi.org/10.2307/3347107.

Kim, Heidi. “From Camp to Chapel Hill: UNC’s Fight to Admit Japanese American Students during World War II.” North Carolina Historical Review 96, no. 2 (April 2019): 182–205.

“Letter from Young outlining some of the recent issues with enrolling Nisei students,” Letter from William Lindsay Young to Frank E. Tyler, Aug. 28. 1942. Located in Francis Fishburn Archives and Special Collections, Park University Nisei Collection, Park University, Parkville, MO, ID: PC-L-1942.1.358.

"Nisei Student Relocation Commemorative Fund." NSRC Fund. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://nsrcfund.org/.

Robinson, Greg. A Tragedy of Democracy: Japanese Confinement in North America. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

"Attachment included a listing of all the Colleges and Universities that had been approved, as of Sept. 1942, to enroll Nisei students," Sept. 2, 1942, Joseph Conrad, Executive Secretary National Student Relocation Council, ID#: PC-L-1942.1.567, Nisei Student Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives & Special Collections, Park University, Parkville, MO. https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.33028458?searchText=PC-L-1942.1.567&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DPC-L-1942.1.567%26scope%3DeyJpZCI6ICIzMzI5MzMwNyIsICJwYWdlTmFtZSI6ICJQYXJrIFVuaXZlcnNpdHkgTmlzZWkgQ29sbGVjdGlvbiIsICJwYWdlVXJsIjogIi9zaXRlL3BhcmsvYXJjaGl2ZXMvcGFya3VuaXZlcnNpdHluaXNlaWNvbGxlY3Rpb24tMzMyOTMzMDcvIiwgInR5cGUiOiAiY29tcGlsYXRpb24iLCAicG9ydGFsTmFtZSI6ICJQYXJrIFVuaXZlcnNpdHkiLCAicG9ydGFsVXJsIjogIi9zaXRlL3BhcmsvIn0%253D&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A6963ee399761bee3c801804e682431b4&searchkey=1679611707600&seq=2

"Bulleting titled The Need for Relocation of Students," May 16, 1942, Student Relocation Committee, ID#: PC-L-1942.1.878. Nisei Student Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives & Special Collections, Park University, Parkville, MO. https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.32986281?searchText=&searchUri=%2Fsite%2Fpark%2Farchives%2F1942-34139899%2F%3FsearchUri%3D%252Fsite%252Fpark%252Farchives%252Fparkuniversityniseicollection-33293307%252F%253Fsearchkey%253D1681223413361%2526doi%253D10.2307%25252Fcontainer.34139901%26ab_segments%3D0%252Fbasic_search_gsv2%252Fcontrol%26searchkey%3D1681223521160&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&searchKey=&refreqid=fastly-default%3A79efb2184df320aea50318c1b9035f0b&seq=1

National Japanese American Student Relocation Council (NJASRC)

Introduction

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