Exclusion: The Presidio's Role in World War II Japanese American Incarceration
Tuesdays to Sundays, 10 am to 5 pm, extended to June 2020
Presidio Officers' Club
During World War II, the Presidio of San Francisco — the Army's Western Defense Command — played a pivotal role in the unjust incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans, purportedly in the name of national security. This special exhibition marks 75 years since Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt issued Civilian Exclusion Orders from the Presidio, and examines the post's little understood part in these events.
The exhibition invites visitors to investigate the choices — both personal and political — that led to this dark chapter in American history. How did leaders arrive at this decision? How did Japanese Americans respond to the violation of their civil liberties? And what, as a nation, have we learned that can help us address the present-day issues of immigration, racism, and mass incarceration?
Exclusion is the latest special exhibition at the Presidio Officers' Club, a cultural institution showcasing the Presidio's role in shaping and serving the nation. Special exhibitions explore the Presidio's heritage and allow for fresh perspectives and a deeper exploration of the topics and themes presented in the club's permanent exhibition.
In developing Exclusion, the Presidio Trust collaborated with the Fred T. Korematsu Institute and the National Japanese American Historical Society.
Exclusion has been awarded the 2018 Charles Redd Award for Exhibition Excellence by the Western Museums Association, October 2018.
Civilian Exclusion Orders
As visitors enter the museum at the Presidio Officers' Club, they encounter installations that address the Presidio's role in the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans, including historic and contemporary perceptions and memories of the incarceration. Visitors first encounter a 1942 San Francisco street scene with a reproduction telephone pole and Civilian Exclusion Order No. 5 poster set against a life-size Dorothea Lange image of San Francisco’s Japantown.
One Hundred Twenty Thousand Lives
Using historic government data, this installation shows the names of Japanese American incarcerees en masse. Many visitors with personal connections to the exhibition engage deeply with this installation, locating names of family and loved ones. Since Exclusion opened, exhibition staff has added interpretive material and takeaway resources to facilitate visitors’ engagement with this exhibit.
Contemporary Art
Select artworks by local artist Judy Shintani are on view throughout the exhibition. Currently on display is Deconstructed Kimono, pictured above.
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