Men and women Quote by Julie Otsuka
““In early autumn the farm recruiters arrived to sign up new workers, and the War Relocation Authority allowed many of the young men and women to go out and help harvest the crops. Some came back wearing the same shoes they'd left in and swore they would never go out there again. They said they'd been shot at. Spat on. Refused entrance to the local diner. The movie theater. The dry goods store. They said the signs in the windows were the same wherever they went: 'No Japs Allowed.' Life was easier, they said, on this side of the fence.””
About This Quote
The passage exposes the paradox of wartime labor policies that ostensibly offered opportunity to Japanese Americans while simultaneously subjecting them to systemic racism and violence, highlighting the dissonance between official rhetoric and lived experience.
In simple terms: War labor vs. racism
Key Takeaway
Policy can mask prejudice
Themes
war labor
racism
civil rights
identity
social injustice
Mood
defiant
somber
reflective
Type
historical narrative
social commentary
When to use this quote
- Japanese American workers seeking employment
- farmers needing labor during harvest
- Japanese Americans facing segregation
- community members confronting hostility
Key Concepts
government policy
racial discrimination
Japanese American experience
wartime economy
Practical Applications
- Historical education on civil liberties
- Advocacy for anti‑discrimination policies
Questions to Reflect On
- How does the promise of work conflict with the reality of exclusion?
- What does this reveal about the limits of governmental benevolence?
![“Gene [Siskel] often mentioned something François Truffaut once told him: the most beautiful sight in a movie theater is to walk down to the front, turn around, and look at the light from the screen reflected on the upturned faces of the members of the audience.” quote by Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/2d8/roger-ebert-655_audience_gene-siskel-often-mentioned-something-fr_61356.jpg)
