West Mall Productions
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Facing Forward, Looking Back
In the wake of the surprising attack and bombing of Pearl Harbor by
Japan in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order
9066 on February 19, 1942. Over 120,000 Japanese American citizens
and Japanese descendants were forced to leave their homes, businesses
and the lives they knew, and were moved to internment camps for the
duration of the war. Most of the camps were located in deserts where
families were crowded in shacks with no running water for up to a period
of four years.
After WWII, a group of young Japanese American women at the University of Southern California, started their own social organization in response to anti-Japanese sentiments they experienced in their community. Sixty years later, their strength and values still resonate throughout the Asian American community and college campuses. Today, Sigma Phi Omega has established nine chapters throughout California and Texas and has thousands of members.
The goal of this film is to preserve and celebrate the history of Sigma Phi Omega. Facing Forward, Looking Back will provide its audience with a historical overview of the time period pre and post Pearl Harbor, with interviews from scholars in the areas of sociology and Asian-American history, while also providing personal accounts and experiences through the eyes of the founding members.
After WWII, a group of young Japanese American women at the University of Southern California, started their own social organization in response to anti-Japanese sentiments they experienced in their community. Sixty years later, their strength and values still resonate throughout the Asian American community and college campuses. Today, Sigma Phi Omega has established nine chapters throughout California and Texas and has thousands of members.
The goal of this film is to preserve and celebrate the history of Sigma Phi Omega. Facing Forward, Looking Back will provide its audience with a historical overview of the time period pre and post Pearl Harbor, with interviews from scholars in the areas of sociology and Asian-American history, while also providing personal accounts and experiences through the eyes of the founding members.
