JACL Responds to Recent Use of Anti-Japanese Slur

The JACL expresses deep concern and disappointment over the recent use of an anti-Japanese racial slur by Wyoming State Representative John Winter during a public committee hearing about an upcoming visit to the Heart Mountain Wyoming Interpretive Center. During the committee hearing, Representative Winter referred to the Heart Mountain Incarceration site as the “Jap Camp”. The following day, Representative Winter issued an apology for his use of the slur.

We acknowledge Representative Winter’s apology and recognize it as an essential first step in taking accountability. We appreciate the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation’s unwavering commitment to fostering education, healing, and forgiveness through their gracious acceptance of his apology. Following his visit to one of the sites of shame and the thoughtful feedback he has received from his constituents, the local community, and fellow legislators, we trust that Representative Winter has gained a clearer understanding of why the continued use of that rhetoric is outdated, inappropriate, and unacceptable.

Using the term “Jap Camp” in reference to one of the ten sites of forced mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II is a deeply dehumanizing and discriminatory way to describe the suffering that our community endured. This slur reduces a painful chapter of American history to a derogatory label that continues to strip away the dignity of those incarcerated, while also undermining efforts to educate the public about this injustice. In the words of JACL past president Dr. Clifford Uyeda in 1973, “For over two generations on the west coast of the United States, the term ‘Jap’ has been used with hate and contempt directly implied.”

For over 120 years, this slur has been used to demean Japanese Americans. We hope that elected officials, the local community, the public, and those who desire to learn visit places like the Japanese American National Museum, utilize resources such as Densho, and travel to Tule Lake, Topaz, Rohwer, Poston, Minidoka, Manzanar, Jerome, Gila River, Heart Mountain, Amache, or the many other WWII sites of incarceration. This incident serves as a testament to the need to continue educating the public about the power of words, the harm this slur has caused, and the wounds that it can reopen today.