UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE Vocational Education Programs Within the Internment Camps and Impact on the Educational and Vocational Trajectories of Japanese American Women A Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education by JoeAnn Hien Nguyen March 2021 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Margaret Nash, Chairperson Dr. Megan Asaka Dr. Begoña Echeverria Copyright by JoeAnn Hien Nguyen 2021 The Dissertation of JoeAnn Hien Nguyen is approved: Committee Chairperson University of California, Riverside Acknowledgments Special thanks to the University of California, Riverside, Center for Ideas for the Humanities Graduate Student Research Grant funding. Special thanks to Densho for the use of the photograph on page 104. The Japanese American Legacy Project is a digital archive of videotaped intervieWs, photographs, documents, and other materials relating to the Japanese American experience. Additional information is available at wWW.densho.org. iv Dedication This dissertation is dedicated in memory of my mother, Muoi Tang Nguyen (September 23, 1955 - March 23, 2011), and in honor of my father, Hien Khac Nguyen. Your love and belief in your children have led us all to great achievements. Special thanks to my siblings, who have supported me in this long journey: LynnAnn BreWer, Lee Nguyen, Diane Nguyen, Jonathan Don Nguyen, and Mary Ann Nguyen. To my tWo sons, Tyler and Austin: Your appearance in this doctoral journey has made me a proud mother scholar. My love for you both has propelled me in this journey. To my love, my husband, Hai Tran: Your support and belief in me have pushed me to neW heights in our life together. Your love has sustained me in this long journey. A thank you seems inadequate for the love and support that you have given in this endeavor and in our life. Thank you. v ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Vocational Education Programs Within the Internment Camps and the Impact on the Educational and Vocational Trajectories of Japanese American Women by JoeAnn Hien Nguyen Doctor of Philosophy, Graduate Program in Education University of California, Riverside, March 2021 Dr. Margaret Nash, Chairperson This dissertation study used an intersectionality frameWork to examine the experience of Japanese American women in their educational and vocational trajectories before, during, and after internment. The study explores how the vocational education program and employment opportunities in internment camps changed the educational and vocational trajectories of Japanese American women. Prior to the war, Japanese American women had limited educational and vocational options due to the Jap Crow infrastructure on the West Coast. During internment, Japanese American women accessed vocational education and employment experience in the camps. A move aWay from the Jap Crow and a wartime labor shortage enabled them to access employment that had been unavailable to them, including professional and semiprofessional jobs. After internment, as Japanese Americans moved back to the West Coast and into professional and semiprofessional employment, there were indications of the breakdown of Jap Crow. vi Table of Contents Chapter 1: Educational and Vocational Trajectories of Japanese American Women .........9 Research Question .................................................................................................10 Historiography .......................................................................................................11 Theoretical FrameWork ..........................................................................................57 Primary Sources, Archives, and Methodology ......................................................64 Language and Terminology ...................................................................................71 Organization of the Dissertation ............................................................................73 Chapter Summary ..................................................................................................73 Chapter 2: Jap Crow in Housing, Social, Education, and Employment Discrimination .............75 Housing Discrimination .........................................................................................77 Social Discrimination .............................................................................................85 Discrimination in the School House ......................................................................92 Employment Discrimination and the Ethnic Economy .......................................103 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................114 Chapter 3: Vocational Education and Employment Opportunities Behind Barbed Wire .........116 Figure 1: Amache High School, 1945, With Teacher Marguerite Anderson ......116 An Immediately Popular Endeavor ......................................................................122 Vocational Education or Cheap Labor .................................................................124 Vocational Education: Liberating or Constraining for Women? .........................134 Embedding Vocational Training in Camp Schools .............................................140 Structural Access to Civil Service and Defense Jobs ..........................................144 vii Professional and Semiprofessional Vocational Training .....................................151 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................159 Chapter 4: Upward Trajectories Amidst Challenging Conditions ..........................................161 Move to the East Coast and Midwest: AWay from Jap Crow ..............................162 Indicators of Decreased Discrimination ...............................................................169 Work in the Mainstream Economy ......................................................................177 Back to the West Coast and Jap Crow ................................................................187 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................198 Chapter 5: Resilience in the Face of Oppression .............................................................200 Left Behind ..........................................................................................................203 In the Spotlight .....................................................................................................207 Limitations of the Study .......................................................................................209 NeW Directions for Research ...............................................................................210 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................212 Appendix: Sources ...........................................................................................................214 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................215 viii CHAPTER 1 EDUCATIONAL AND VOCATIONAL TRAJECTORIES OF JAPANESE AMERICAN WOMEN Taj Shigaki, a woman who lived through the internment of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans, including herself and her family, reflected on her life trajectory in her memoir: Perhaps it took a year of my life when education was disrupted. And perhaps I lost a husband and family that I might have had, had life proceeded in the course it was going before Pearl Harbor. But I gained an education beyond my expecta- tions back then. And more importantly I gained a world vieW that continued existence in Southern California may not have made possible. Minnesota was a breath of fresh air because I felt accepted and not put down. I was in many situations because I was a novelty, and as such, doors were opened for me. Once permitted in I made the most of opportunities to be my own person and to help others discover that our differences need not be barriers . We are comfortable 1 and adjusted, so we can do our own thing with freedom and no sense of restraint. While Shigaki is casual in her dismissal of not getting married or having children, she clearly believes that her education and lifestyle were possible only due to her move to Minnesota. She believes that her life following internment improved her educational trajectory in a way that would have been unattainable had she stayed in California. Prior to the war, Shigaki attended Los Angeles City College and transferred to University of Redlands when it seemed that internment was imminent. After spending four months at the Poston internment camp in Arizona, Shigaki continued her education at Denison University in Ohio and eventually graduated from NeWton Theological School in 1 “Taj Shigaki” in Reflections: Memoirs of Japanese American Women in Minnesota (Taiwan: Pacific Asia Press, 1994), ed. John Tsuchida, 277-278. 1 Massachusetts. Eventually, she also received her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Minnesota. Her first position after this degree Was as Assistant Superintendent of Women’s Reformatory. Shigaki continued to work for Minnesota’s Department of Corrections for the next tWenty-five years and retired as an Assistant Director of Personnel and Affirmative Action Officer. As Shigaki recounts her life in Minnesota, there are a feW clues to what life was like prior to internment. In her