City of McGehee to note 10-year anniversary of Japanese American Internment Museum

The city of McGehee plans to commemorate 10 years of historic preservation of an infamous period in American history. On Thursday (May 4), officials will hold a ceremony that is expected to include 200 former internees and family members from the WWII Japanese American internment camps in Rowher and Jerome Arkansas.

Actor George Takei, a former internment camp resident who starred in the TV series Star Trek as Mr. Sulu, will be a special guest for the event. He lived with his family at the Rowher camp when he was five years old.

The WWII Japanese American Internment Museum in McGehee, which opened in 2013, pays tribute to the Japanese Americans who were confined in barbed wire fence camps across the U.S. during World War II. During the 1940s, 17,000 Japanese Americans were forced to live in Arkansas.

The museum contains the exhibit “Against Their Will,” created by students of UALR and donated by the Delta Cultural Center of Helena. It features photographs, stories and artifacts.

Since the museum’s opening, many families have also donated oral histories and other memorabilia.

A reception and tours will follow the ceremony.