Day 329: Japanese American Student Relocation Council, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut

📌 APIA Every Day (329) - During World War II, following the issuance of Executive Order 9066 in 1942, approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated to incarceration camps. Amid this injustice, the University of Connecticut (UConn), in collaboration with the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council, opened its doors to eighteen Japanese American students from these camps, providing them with an opportunity to continue their education despite widespread exclusion elsewhere. 

The National Japanese American Student Relocation Council was formed in 1942 to help Japanese American college students continue their education after they were forcibly removed from the West Coast and incarcerated. Many Nisei students were suddenly cut off from their schools and futures. The Council, organized by the American Friends Service Committee with support from government and religious organizations, aimed to relocate these students to colleges and universities outside the restricted military zones, mostly in the Midwest and East Coast. The goal was to preserve educational opportunities for young Japanese Americans and to show that they could be trusted and integrated into broader American society despite wartime suspicion and prejudice. The university’s decision to accept the eighteen students reflected a combination of humanitarian values, a belief in civil liberties, and a desire to support American citizens during a time of widespread racial prejudice and wartime fear. By offering a safe place to continue their education, UConn played a role in resisting the discriminatory policies of the era and affirming the rights of Japanese American students.

UConn continues to honor and preserve its historical connections to Japanese American experiences. The Asian and Asian American Studies Institute at UConn maintains a Japanese American Internment Resource Library, offering a wide array of materials, including videos, books, teaching aids, oral histories, and visual documentation to educate the public about this significant period. Additionally, in 2025, the William Benton Museum of Art hosted an exhibition titled "Minnie Negoro: From Heart Mountain to UConn," curated by professors Jason Chang and Hana Maruyama. This exhibition celebrated the life and work of Minnie Negoro, a Japanese American ceramic artist and former UConn professor who had been incarcerated during the war. 

Written by Billy Zeng

LEARN MORE:

Densho Encyclopedia: National Japanese American Student Relocation Council

UConn Reads: Religion and Inclusion, a UConn Story 

An Engineering Alumnus' Journey From an Internment Camp to UConn 

From Internee To College Student: UConn’s Enrollment Of Japanese-Americans During World War II

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