In September 2004, "Camp Connections: A Conversation about Civil Rights and Social Justice in Arkansas" attracted over 1,200 people to Little Rock. The number far surpassed the initial projection of a couple of hundred attendees. The conference sought to raise awareness of the two internment camps in Arkansas through panel discussions, exhibitions, and field trips to the former internment camp sites. Actor George Takei and U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye were among those who spoke at the conference.
A major draw of the conference was that it served as a reunion for former internees, many of whom were returning to Arkansas for the first time. A bulletin board allowed conference goers to post messages and find people they had not seen for almost 60 years. Children and grandchildren of former internees were also seeking to connect to their family history during a dark chapter in U.S. history. The conference also captured the interest of local Arkansans, who were unaware that their state was a site for internment camps.
The conference enabled the Life Interrupted project to collect a wealth of materials, including historical documents, photographs, and scholarly works. The project also created curriculum guides for teachers to educate students on Japanese American internment.
*The banner photo shows children playing with wooden pallets, making a makeshift playhouse at Jerome Relocation Center [courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration].
Video and audio of the conference is available in the Life Interrupted Collection, which is housed at the UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture.