Contact sheet of negatives by George Wakiji documenting the United States Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) Hearings in Washington, D.C. Name stamp of George Wakiji on back; an address label (George M. Wakiji/5820 Iron Willow Court/ Alexandra, VA 22310) affixed to back covering another, perhaps previous address. Photo label of those depicted affixed on reverse.
The CWRIC was a bipartisan commission formed by President Jimmy Carter to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding Executive Order 9066 (EO 9066) and the incarceration of American citizens, as well as the mistreatment of the Alaskan natives of the Pribilof and Aleutian Islands. The following contact sheet documents the hearing held on July, 16 1981. It features members of commission and captures the testimonies from Jack Greenberg of the NAACP Legal & Education Fund, Ed Nakawatase of the American Friends Service Committee, and influential Japanese American civil rights activist Yuri Kochiyama. Kochiyama, whose family was incarcerated at Santa Anita and Jerome, worked during the civil rights movement in forging an alliance between Asian American and African American communities. She is most known for being with Malcom X on the night of his assassination. Also featured was Lillian Baker a conservative activist Lilian Baker and a proponent of Japanese American incarceration.