“Profoundly moving accounts about
the extraordinary individuals who acted our of conscience when
others did not.”
– Jeanne Wakatsuki Huston, author,
Farewell to Manzanar
– Jeanne Wakatsuki Huston, author,
Farewell to Manzanar
“...Brings to light the best kind of
brave, ordinary heroics. It makes your heart feel proud of what
humans of conscience can do even in cruel times.”
– Jack Kornfield, cofounder,
Spirit Rock Meditation Center.
– Jack Kornfield, cofounder,
Spirit Rock Meditation Center.
“Especially relevant to readers who
are searching for ways to heal and reconcile the rifts that
have been drawn in post 9/11 America.... [It] offers a valid
moral vision of how ordinary individuals can make a difference
in a world torn apart by war, racism and inequality.”
– Russell Leong,
editor,
Amerasia Journal, UCLA
Amerasia Journal, UCLA
After Japan’s surprise attack on
Pearl Harbor in 1941, the United States was gripped by fear,
anger and racial prejudice. In the name of national security,
120,000 Japanese Americans—innocent men, women and
children, citizens and noncitizens alike—were
incarcerated in American concentration camps. Not a single one
was ever found guilty of espionage or sabotage.
In Good Conscience is the first thorough exploration of the
relatively few Americans who recognized at the time that the
United States government was committing a great wrong. Who had
the courage to stand up for the Japanese Americans? What did
they do? What price did they pay?
In today’s post-9/11, post-New
Orleans climate, as homeland security, racism and classism
continue to erode civil liberties, these vivid portraits of the
courageous few who kept faith with a compassionate God and a
just Constitution take on a compelling new relevance.
Author Shizue Seigel sketches vivid
portraits of two dozen teachers, ministers and just plain folks
who advocated for the Japanese Americans in the media, worked
in the internment camps, safeguarded their property or helped
them start new lives after leaving the concentration camps. In Good Conscience brings
new insight into what transforms ordinary people into
extraordinary advocates for justice and compassion.
In Good Conscience was made possible by funding from the California
Civil Liberties Public Education Program and members and
friends of MISNorCal.