What does an American look like? Who gets to decide?

Knowing our history is the first step in making sure we do not repeat it. By standing together against injustice, we can change the course of history.

Then They Came for Me: Incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII and the Demise of Civil Liberties examines the terrifying period in U.S. history when the government scapegoated and imprisoned thousands of people of Japanese ancestry. This multimedia exhibition draws parallels to tactics chillingly resurgent today featuring imagery by noted American photographers Dorothea Lange and Ansel Adams, alongside works by incarcerated Japanese American artists Toyo Miyatake and Miné Okubo.

Presented by the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation in partnership with the National Japanese American Historical Society and J-Sei, the exhibition tells the story of the forced removal of 120,000 Japanese American citizens and legal residents from their homes on the West Coast during World War II without due process or other constitutional protections to which they were entitled. 

While the exhibition is closed, we'd love to bring it to other cities. Let us know where you think it should travel next: info@thentheycame.org.

Advisory Committee

Judy Appel, Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, TTCFM Project Director
Melissa Ayumi Bailey, National Japanese American Historical Society
Richard Cahan, Journalist, co-author of “Un-American”
Brian Fong, Facing History
Abby Ginzberg, Filmmaker
Donna Graves, Curatorial Advisor
Anthony Hirschel, Curatorial Consultant and TTCFM Project Advisor
Satsuki Ina, Psychotherapist
Mindy Iwanaka, Futures Without Violence
Dana Kawano, Contributing Artist

Angeera Khadka, TTCFM Gallery and Education Manager
Maia Kamehiro Stockwell, TTCFM Gallery and Program Director
Paul Kitagaki Jr., Photojournalist
Karen Korematsu, Fred T. Korematsu Institute
Debbie Lee, Futures Without Violence
Jonathan Logan, Jonathan Logan Family Foundation
Grace Morizawa, National Japanese American Historical Society
Max Nihei, National Japanese American Historical Society
Chizu Omori, Nikkei Resisters

Courtney Peagler, Educational Technology Advisor
Amber Akemi Piatt, Researcher
Jill Shiraki, J-Sei, TTCFM Program Director
Miya Sommers, TTCFM Gallery Director
Don Tamaki, Attorney, Stop Repeating History
Rosalyn Tonai, National Japanese American Historical Society, Contributing Curator
Nancy Ukai, 50 Objects
Alice Yang, Ph.D., University California Santa Cruz
Susanne Zuerbig, Jonathan Logan Family Foundation

Special thanks to the Alphawood Foundation and the Japanese American Service Committee of Chicago, where this project originated; Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project, and to all the individuals and community organizations that have contributed to the exhibition.

The exhibition is designed by Tomomi Itakura of i-k design.