JANM Mourns the Passing of Roger Daniels, Preeminent Historian and Scholar of the World War II Japanese American Incarceration Experience

LOS ANGELES, CA –The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) is saddened by the passing of Roger Daniels, the preeminent historian and scholar of his generation on the World War II Japanese American experience. He was ninety-five years old when he passed away on December 9, 2022.

Daniels was the Charles Phelps Taft Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Cincinnati. Beginning with The Politics of Prejudice: The Anti-Japanese Movement in California and the Struggle for Japanese Exclusion, he wrote widely on Japanese American history and the history of immigration, including Prisoners Without Trial: Japanese Americans in World War II and Guarding the Golden Door: American Immigration Policy and Immigrants Since 1882. He also served as a consultant to the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians from 1981 to 1983.

JANM collaborated with Daniels on several initiatives over the years. He was the keynote speaker at the 2009 Day of Remembrance at JANM and spoke at the Museum’s 2013 National Conference, Speaking Up! Democracy, Justice, Dignity, in Seattle, Washington. He also permitted JANM’s Discover Nikkei website to reprint his essay, “Words Do Matter: A Note on Inappropriate Terminology and the Incarceration of the Japanese Americans,” which was published in 2005.

“Roger’s death marks the loss of an early and outstanding historian of immigration history and World War II Japanese American history. His books and writings are part of the field’s foundation. His historical perspective on American immigration and World War II incarceration helped inform current issues of immigration, racism, and terminology regarding the incarceration. We feel his loss not only in our community but across the nation. We will miss him deeply,” said Ann Burroughs, President and CEO.

JANM’s Chief Curator, Karen Ishizuka, added, “Roger was critical in our struggle to keep our exhibition title, America’s Concentration Camps: Remembering the Japanese American Experience, intact when it was threatened with censorship by the Ellis Island immigration museum in 1998. When, at the eleventh hour, we were told that the exhibition would not be displayed unless the term ‘concentration camp’ was stricken from the title, I called Roger.  Roger said he would contact the chief historian of the National Park Service and, with his characteristic dry humor added, ‘Obviously, a Friday is not the best time to move the federal government.’ Yet the chief historian called me the next (Saturday) morning. And soon thereafter we heard from the office of the Secretary of the Interior that we could proceed as planned. With Roger's and others’ assistance, we indeed succeeded in moving the federal government.”

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