Russell Lee: Japanese Americans

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order No. 9066. While it made no specific mention of Japanese Americans, in the months to come it would empower the military to force approximately 110,000 men, women, and children of Japanese descent (the majority of them U.S. citizens) from their homes along the West Coast to “assembly centers.” Many would then be assigned to internment camps further inland where they were kept fenced in and under guard in the name of national security. Having served as a photographer for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) since 1937, Russell Lee (1903-1986) had a unique view into the lives of these Japanese Americans. He had known them for years as many were small farmers, the very people the agency was meant to safeguard. Military order now compelled the FSA to find new operators for Japanese owned farms and, in certain approved areas, to arrange for Japanese farm laborers when there were shortages. During this dark period in American history, Russell Lee worked as he always did: to document the dignity and fullness of life in trying times.