by Kay Curry
Northwest Asia Weekly
Library founder Kay Vanderlip commemorates Japanese Imprisoned Literature Day. (Photo by Kay Vanderlip)
For Tesla STEM High School student Kai Vanderlip, the year-long school project became a mission to educate others about Japanese-American history during World War II. The enterprising young man is the founder of Library Day of Japanese Incarceration Literature, which provided six picture books about Japanese-American incarceration to 33 elementary schools in the Lake Washington School District for this year’s commemoration. Affects more than 14,000 children.
It started in fifth grade, when Vanderlip and his classmates were given the task of working on a subject they wanted to be experts on.The child of a Japanese-American mother who spent his entire life in Redmond, Vanderlip grew up learning about Japanese culture — but not too much
A lot about dark times in American history.
‘Nana and mum suggest imprisonment [as a project topic] And said it was an important part of our history,” Vanderlip recalled.
In Vanderlip’s family, his great-grandfather’s brother and brother-in-law, a Japanese teacher on Kauai, Hawaii, were imprisoned during the war. Both men and their relatives were moved from one camp to another in multiple states, including Tule Lake, California, and Livingston, Louisiana.
Meanwhile, Vanderlip’s great-grandfather, who was not incarcerated, was a sergeant major in the Military Intelligence Service at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, serving his country, which speaks to the gross injustice of incarceration policy. Serious injustice of the policy.
A desire to learn more about this history, and to share it with others, took Vanderlip far beyond the original project. Back in sixth grade, he contacted Lori Matsukawa from KING 5 News. He was watching her series “Prisoners in Their Own Land: The Story Behind the Story” and wanted advice on “At what age should this material be taught?” According to Vanderlip, Matsukawa replied, “As early as possible. It’s never too late. I think kindergarteners can understand the idea that there was a time in history when it wasn’t cool to have a Japanese name.”
Vanderlip’s project peaked during the 2020 pandemic, when he found himself with more time on his hands and was looking for ways to give back to the community. “I thought I should expand the incarceration of Japanese Americans… at that time, it was horrible [anti-]Asian American hate crimes are happening and I want to spread awareness. Vanderlip’s mission was combined in the form of a book project, “to educate students from an early age about these civil rights violations that were so unjustly imposed on the Japanese in World War II, so that they would grow up to be more knowledgeable and Find out, speak out against intolerance. “
Based on his own research, and with the help of librarians Leann Clawson of Ben Franklin Elementary School and Christie Reagan of Peter Kirk Elementary School, a list of picture books about incarceration experiences suitable for elementary school students was formed. Lake Washington School District Chief Librarian Amy Waldroup approved all titles ahead of their distribution for Remembrance Day 2022.
“Ben Franklin Elementary hosted this soft launch in grades 2, 3, 4 and 5 and it was a huge success,” Vanderlip said in the letter to the school. “The fifth graders even applauded one of the stories, which has never happened before.”
Books selected for Remembrance Day’s Japanese Incarceration Libraries Project (Photo by Kai Vanderlip)
The selected books are:
- “Choose Your Dream Cat” by Loriene Honda
- “Fish for Jimmy” by Katie Yamazaki
- “Fred Korematsu Speaks Up” by Laura Atkins and Stan Yogi
- “Bracelet” by Yoshiko Uchida and Joanna Yardley
- “Desert Diary” by Michael O. Tunnell
- Where the Sunflowers Grow by Amy Lee-Tai
Vanderlip initially planned to go to the school in person, read books aloud to students and lead discussions. However, this quickly became inadvisable due to COVID-19 concerns, so Vanderlip, along with participating librarians and teachers, switched to a virtual format. Vanderlip also developed his own lesson plans for “Choosing Your Dream Cat” and “Fishing for Jimmy” and shared them with the school.
As the project grows, so does the number of helpers. Cynthia Burt, assistant principal of TESLA High School and administrator of the Equity Club, worked with Vanderlip. The project is now an action item in support of Glenn Singleton’s Brave Conversations About Race: A Field Guide to Achieving Equity in Schools.
Vanderlip has continued support from his family, including aunties in Hawaii, who send him relevant articles whenever they find them. The project has received substantial local financial support, including grants from the Kirkland Youth Council, the City of Kirkland and the Lake Washington School Foundation, and discounts from Brick and Mortar Books and Martin Pearl Publishing in Redmond Town Center.
Now a high school student, the program has just started and is expanding at work, and Vanderlip has been busy with other activities that emphasize diversity. He is a member of the TESLA Equity Committee, which runs the school’s equity club, whose goal is to spread awareness of racism.
Through the book project, Vanderlip hopes to “create a more equitable environment throughout the school district…by educating children at a young age.” He felt that not enough people understood how Japanese-Americans were sent to concentration camps during World War II, And hopefully in conjunction with this year’s 80th anniversary, his project will support the Japanese phrase “nidoto nai yoni” – making it never happen again.
Kay can reach info@nwasianweekly.com.
