One high school in Concord on Tuesday night is awarding diplomas to Japanese-American students who were pulled from the campus during World War II.
CONCORD -- It's graduation season all over the Bay Area, but one high school in Concord on Tuesday night is awarding diplomas to Japanese-American students who were pulled from the campus during World War II.
"Was he a tough guy? He seemed like it," said Gordon."He was kind of stocky, but he was always very gentle." It's all happening because Laura Valdez's students did think about it. Two years ago, a camp survivor and Mt. Diablo alum named Kimi Tahiri Dowell suggested the idea. Students who in the school's History and Ethnic Studies class went to work, first learning the story of the camps and then lobbying the district to award the retroactive diplomas.
The injustice of the internment seems obvious, but it really hit home for the students to learn about others their age who never had the chance to graduate with their friends. "Unity was a big key in that," said Banks."They helped each other, helped one another. Treated people like how they wanted to be treated."