2021 Update

I made contact with a legislator to draft language and propose the bill. Another bill had already been proposed to move the holiday back a week and rename it Emancipation Day. I was advised that proposing another bill at the same time would not be successful. Neither bill mentions Asian Americans or Japanese Americans (and the legislator we had originally partnered with was not planning on including that language). Though this new bill does rename the holiday, it makes no reference to any past harm done by the celebration of Victory Day.  

The goal is to keep momentum and awareness up for this year and to try to find a different lawmaker to propose the bill early next year. 

Op-Ed by Amanda Woodward from 2020My Turn: Amanda Woodward: There is honor in moving on from Victory Day holiday

Amanda Woodward

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With our minds awakened to the angst that certain memorials cause, simply by their presence, it is past due for Rhode Island to face and accept that Victory over Japan Day affects our Japanese American citizens and that it negatively reflects on our otherwise genuine effort to be the best state we can be.

Every day, I appreciate living in Rhode Island, because our state has led in legislation that ensures inclusiveness and demonstrates that the well-being of all our citizens is important. So I wonder, given the current social awakening of how certain actions (and inaction) assert oppression upon targeted minorities, how our legislators will respond to the annual speculation from the nation’s and local media as to why we continue to practice this holiday.

I try to imagine what this day must feel like to a Japanese American Rhode Islander. Likely, they or their relatives were corralled into internment camp, stripped of all their assets, and never properly compensated after the war. They may have relatives who died in Nagasaki or Hiroshima or suffered horrifically from radiation poisoning. And, to remind them annually of the trials that they and their families suffered, their home state celebrates Victory over Japan Day. It is the only holiday Rhode Island celebrates around a specific war, a war that decimated a race and their cities. For 75 years, Japanese-Americans of Rhode Island are singularly humiliated and demonized by this holiday.

The argument that the official name “Victory Day" is not explicitly about Japan is a poor attempt to gloss over the fact that its origins are firmly rooted in V-J Day. It is an attempt to force-fit a modified definition, which is not held by recorded history or the public at large, to justify its continuance. World War II unarguably had a unique impact on Rhode Island due to the number of soldiers sent to war and the amount of equipment and goods manufactured for the war. But rather than suggest that any one war or any one soldier’s sacrifice is so much greater as to warrant a separate holiday, our nation’s Veterans Day provides the opportunity to reflect upon the impact of and rationale for wars, and to honor and thank Rhode Island soldiers, veterans and their families for their sacrifices.

I put forth that if we have to annually debate and defend this holiday, then it is past time for us to be honest about its history, stop making excuses for it and decide whether it reflects the values of Rhode Island citizens as a whole. Celebratory alternatives would preserve a state holiday and give it meaning that can be embraced by all our citizens:

Rhode Island Heritage Day, to recognize our richly diverse population with events hosted by various communities, providing venues for honest reflection and lessons for our children on the complexity of the good and the ugly history that our nation owns.

Beautiful Rhode Island Day, to encourage Rhode Islanders to enjoy a staycation, exploring beaches and state parks and attend food and music festivals.

A floating holiday to celebrate an individual’s traditions with their family.

Our veterans who were Japanese prisoners of war have journeyed back to Japan to forgive and embrace the very people who imprisoned them. These soldiers know the war is long over, and that there is honor and healing in moving on.

Amanda Woodward is a former technology company executive and small business owner. She lives in Providence.

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