Nisei Graduation

As high school seniors throughout the country graduate this week a few special ceremonies are taking place up and down the state of California. Walking with the Class of 2006 this year will be a number of Nisei (second generation Japanese Americans) who were forced into internment camps during World War II and unable to receive their high school diplomas. Such ceremonies have been taking place since the late 1990s but became officially supported by the California legislature when Assembly Bill 781 was signed into law in 2004. Introduced by Assemblymember Sally Lieber, AB 781 allows school districts to award diplomas to those Japanese Americans who could not finish their high school education because of the hardships they faced during the war. Through AB 781 and The California Nisei High School Diploma Project over 200 elderly Japanese Americans throughout the state have already been honored by their former high schools and dozens more will proudly don their caps and gowns this year. Minna-san omedetou gozaimasu!