THURSDAY OCT, 13
7 - 8:15pm (CDT)

The Urban History Seminar series feature a scholarly presentation followed by lively discussion. Takako Day, independent researcher, and Michael Day, Professor of English and Director of the First-Year Composition Program at Northern Illinois University, present “Breaking the Japantown Stereotype: Who Were the Japanese and Japanese Americans in Chicago 1865–1940?”

Most people think of the Japanese as so group-oriented that they would naturally form Japantowns, enclaves for Japanese immigrants in US cities. Yet, unlike their counterparts on the West Coast who were subject to strong racism, the Japanese in Chicago felt free to live where they chose, based on their own sense of individuality and self-identity. Join Takako and Michael Day to learn about the many and varied lives of Japanese immigrants, as well as their families and their professions, introducing, through Chicago history, a new aspect of Japanese American history in the United States.

The Zoom session will open at 6:45 p.m. with the program starting at 7:00 p.m. and concluding by 8:15 p.m. RSVP is required.  

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This session is free of charge; we would greatly appreciate a donation to the Museum in any amount. A Zoom link will be provided after registration.  

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*The Urban History Seminars have been generously underwritten by the Chicago History Museum since 1983.