The Los Angeles County Library is proud to feature a virtual program on Wednesday, Feb. 16, with Sam Mihara, subject of the book “Blindsided: The Life and Times of Sam Mihara,” which chronicles his life in a U.S. government incarceration camp during World War II. 

This year marks the 80th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, a 1942 wartime order authorizing the forcible incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese Americans, which included Mihara and his family, who were forced out of their home and moved to Heart Mountain, a desolate Wyoming prison camp.

Mihara will share his childhood wartime experiences at Heart Mountain and discuss why the camps were created and what lessons were learned. His talk will shed light on civil rights violations endured by the Japanese American community during World War II.

Following Mihara’s presentation, participants will have the opportunity to engage in a live Q&A.

Today, Mihara is a national speaker on mass imprisonment and has presented on this topic at the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Smithsonian Institution, and Harvard Law School, among other governing bodies, institutions, and academic settings. In 2018, Mihara received the Paul A. Gagnon Prize from the National Council for History Education.

This special event for adults is free and open to the public. For more information and to RSVP for the event, go to: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/event/6157898  

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