History Often Rhymes

“HISTORY DOESN’T REPEAT, BUT IT OFTEN RHYMES.”

We like to believe that something like the incarceration of Japanese Americans could never happen again. But times of crisis, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, often result in discrimination and attacks on Asian Americans and other minority groups. Old prejudices can suddenly reemerge under fear, anger, and stress. In our country’s history, immigration, race, and disease have always been intertwined. Remembering that can help us to avoid making the same mistakes again.

Below you’ll find links to each section of this digital exhibit, starting with “Fear of the Foreign” and working through themes of xenophobia, scapegoating, the power of language and labeling, and the concept of the perpetual foreigner, ending in the final section that highlights what we can do today to combat these attitudes and protect others and ourselves.