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GRADE LEVEL: High School
COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language
On the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, ADL brings together classroom resources for this special curriculum unit to reinforce the significance of this act, signed by President Ronald Reagan on August 10, 1988. This law issued a formal apology and gave reparations to the 60,000 surviving Japanese Americans who were a part of the 120,000 Japanese Americans imprisoned for three years due to Executive Order 9066 in 1942 during World War II.
Using video histories of Japanese-American internees during World War II, this curriculum unit provides an opportunity for high school students to use this dark period in U.S. history to reflect on the dangers of stereotyping, prejudice and racial and ethnic discrimination, so as not to repeat history.
Students not only build their understanding about the discrimination that Japanese Americans faced before and after their internment, they also are introduced to the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.