Alright, gather ‘round, because today in history, we’re talking about a time when the U.S. government did something so wildly racist and unconstitutional that decades later, they had to cut a big fat apology check. That’s right—March 18, 1942, the day the War Relocation Authority (WRA) was established to round up over 110,000 Japanese Americans and throw them into camps. And no, not fun summer camps with s’mores and kayaking—these were internment camps, where entire families were locked up simply for existing while Japanese.
The War Relocation Authority: The OG Bad Idea Factory
So, picture this: Pearl Harbor happens in December 1941, and instead of, I don’t know, handling national security like rational people, the U.S. government collectively loses its mind. Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066—which might as well have been called The “We’re Racist and Panicking” Act—giving the military the power to declare whole chunks of the country “exclusion zones” and kick out anyone they deemed “a threat.” Enter the WRA on March 18, 1942, the agency in charge of forcibly relocating Japanese Americans—many of them born and raised in the U.S.—to desolate, prison-like camps.
Ten of these charming little camps popped up in the middle of nowhere—places so remote that even Waze would say, “You sure about this?” Families had 48 hours to pack up their entire lives, sell off everything they owned for pennies on the dollar, and report to these camps where they’d spend years in barracks that had all the architectural charm of a cardboard box in a windstorm.
Living That Internment Life
Once locked up, internees faced freezing winters, blazing hot summers, zero privacy, and food that made gas station sushi look like Michelin-star dining. But somehow, they managed to build communities—setting up schools, businesses, and even newspapers, because of course they did. These were people who took a crisis and said, “Fine. We’ll still be better than you.”
And what was America doing at the time? Well, let’s just say they were busy fighting a war against actual fascists while simultaneously running a program that looked a lot like what they were fighting against. It wasn’t a great look.
Eventually, Someone Said, “Whoops.”
Fast-forward to 1988—forty-six years later—when President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act, which basically admitted, “Hey, remember that time we locked up an entire ethnic group for no reason? Yeah, turns out that was bad.” Each surviving internee got a $20,000 check as an apology, which—don’t get me wrong—is nice, but not exactly “Sorry we stole your entire life” money.
Flash-Forward to Today: Same Bigotry, New Packaging
Now, before we get all smug thinking we’ve totally learned our lesson, let’s take a quick peek at some modern headlines, shall we?
- Right now, the Trump administration is investigating over 50 universities for their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. Because apparently, making sure marginalized people have a fair shot is now a problem?
- Hate crimes against minority communities are on the rise—especially against Muslim and Arab Americans, with reported incidents hitting record highs in 2024.
- And in a plot twist nobody asked for, California is trying to push through reparations, while the federal government is busy dismantling anything that acknowledges racism was ever a thing.
So, yeah—March 18, 1942, was bad. But the real kicker? We’re still out here, in 2025, pulling the same tired tricks with different targets. The only thing that’s changed is the branding.
And before anyone says, “That was the past! Let’s move on!”—listen, America has a history of pretending its worst mistakes are just “quirky little oopsies” instead of giant civil rights violations. But if we don’t remember this stuff—and more importantly, if we don’t do something about it—we’re just setting ourselves up for the next big national “our bad.”
So maybe, just maybe, let’s try to not repeat history for once. Sound good?
