'Call To Serve: Clara E. Breed And The Japanese American Incarceration'

This exhibition will be on view Sept 18, 2021 - Jan. 30, 2022 at San Diego Central Library @ Joan Λ Irwin Jacobs Common.

Opening reception:
Saturday, Sept. 18 from noon to 2 p.m. The opening reception will be hosted on the 9th floor Valeiras Sculptural Garden. Light refreshments will be served.

About the exhibition:
Clara E. Breed directed the San Diego Public Library for 42 years as a public servant advocating on numerous fronts, including the promotion of youth services, championing a child’s right to read by encouraging international and multicultural collections, undertaking an unprecedented expansion of the City’s Library system, and most significantly, advocating on behalf of the hundreds of Japanese American families that were incarcerated due to Executive Order 9066.

Breed was ahead of her time in her interest to promote cultural understanding and fight prejudice. Her steadfast commitment and activism broadens our insights about the role libraries play in working toward a more equitable, diverse, and inclusionary future.

"Call to Serve: Clara E. Breed & The Japanese American Incarceration" is co-organized by guest curators Susan Hasegawa, Linda Salem, and the San Diego Public Library.

This exhibition was made possible by a collaboration between the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, the Japanese American National Museum, the Japanese American Historical Society of San Diego, San Diego State University, and Simmons University Archives.

Stay Connected with the Library's Visual Arts Program by visiting https://www.sandiego.gov/public-library/visualarts