“The nail that sticks out is the one that gets hit.”
This is a common Japanese proverb. Parents use it to teach kids to conform and respect authority, not to stand out or make waves. It was a mindset that the US government used to their advantage with FDR’s Executive Order 9066 in which 127,000 Japanese Americans (both legal immigrants and born citizens) were interned in camps with their property confiscated. This was done without due process in clear violation of the Bill of Rights. Respectful of authority, the vast majority complied.
The camps weren’t Auschwitz. They had Boy Scouts and baseball. But they were still surrounded by barbed wire and snipers in the guard towers. And even if some did manage to escape, they were in the desert where food and water was scarce and sympathetic friends were few.
As a Sensei (3rd generation Japanese-American) Playwright Jeanne Sakata, wanted to come to terms with this chapter of her own family’s history. It was a dark secret that they were pretty tight-lipped about. She was inspired by Gordon Hirabayashi, a man who stuck out, resisted the order and took the hammer’s many blows. Hold These Truths was born from their letters and interviews.
“Ancestry is not a crime!”
Growing up on a small family farm in the state of Washington, Gordon was used to signs that read “No Japs Allowed” at cafés and hotels. On a trip to the Big Apple, he marveled that there were no racially exclusive signs. He could go anywhere he could afford to. If only he had more money….
So the indignities and inconveniences of Jim Crow racism was nothing new to him. But after the attack on Pearl Harbor, things heated up. Mobs of vigilantes broke the windows of homes and businesses. The government imposed curfews and travel restrictions. Gordon couldn’t even study in the library past eight o’clock. We were at war with the Axis: Germany, Italy and Japan. But restrictions were only imposed on those of Japanese ancestry. Only they were held in suspicion.
Ryun Yu is an engaging and animated storyteller as he walks us through the odyssey of Gordon Hirabayashi with poignancy and humor. Through subtle changes in his voice and body language, Yu presents a whole cast of characters. I especially liked his redneck impressions. According to the program, Yu is the first Korean-American to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and has the first theatre degree ever awarded by MIT. “And his parents still talk to him.”
Hold These Truths is a story we need to hear. Director Jessica Kubzansky describes it as “a love story between a man and his Constitution.” The true shonda is that Gordon Hirabayashi resisted injustice precisely because he believed in the noble ideals enshrined in our Constitution far more than the leaders who swore to uphold and defend them. And right now, it is not just an administration that is on trial, but the very tenets of justice, fairness and accountability. The question is: how strongly do we really believe in them?
Hold These Truths is playing at the Lyceum Space in Horton Plaza, Nov 14-Dec 8, 2019. Tickets can be acquired at www.sdrep.org.
Republished from San Diego Jewish World