hoolchildren and others about the era. (Weglyn 126).In 1988, after a decade long campaign, the government apologized and offered $1.25 billion in redress payments to the internees. (Brimner 105). As a woman and a Japanese-American, Cheryl Atkinson is worried about more subtle forms of discrimination. Atkinson, a second year law student at the University of Utah, wonders how far her career will advance. As a member of the minority and women’s law on the campus, Atkinson has campaigned for a more diverse faculty and student body. Atkinson states,” It’s only in the past few years that I have come to understand about discrimination. Being in law school, I am interested in seeing more minorities, especially Japanese-Americans, in professional fields. And that glass ceiling you’re always hearing about—I would like to see that gone.” (Salt Lake 4A) Most of the evacuees were held on the relocation camps for more than 2 years until after the War Department revoked the West Coast exclusion orders in 1944. About half returned to the West Coast during 1945 and 1946 (Uchida 109). After the end of World War II, the post- war economy was in need of labor, and many white employers hired Japanese American workers. Yet racial discrimination continued to affect the second generation; certain occupations were still off limits (Hohri 156). Self -employment continued to be important. By 1960 there were seven thousand Japanese-owned businesses in the Los Angeles area, most of them gardening businesses. Hotels, groceries, and laundries made up the next largest categories. The second and later generation has gradually moved away from the niche economy of small businesses to professional and white-collar jobs (Hohri 157). The most recent survey concluded that Japanese Americans were concentrated in white-collar jobs. However, one study concluded ...
