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Ordinary Voices, Extraordinary Impact

historical image

The Mission Viejo Library is embarking on a grant-funded project that invites the community to consider how ordinary individuals can counteract injustice. This project comprises an exhibit, an author event, and a letter-writing campaign that will culminate in a piece of community art. 

  • In December, the community is invited to view an exhibit depicting the Japanese American internment during World War II as recounted in letters from young internees to San Diego librarian Clara Breed. The exhibit will be on display at the Mission Viejo Library through late January 2025. 
  • Reflecting on the experiences captured in the letters to Miss Breed, the community will engage in a letter-writing campaign focused on personal encounters with injustice and the positive impacts of their fellow citizens. Local artist Fernando del Rosario will add participants’ letters to a large-scale collage, creating a visual connection between historical injustices and the value of civil liberties in contemporary life. The finished piece will be installed in the Mission Viejo Library in the spring of 2025. 
  • Join the Library on Sunday, March 9 for a presentation and discussion with Janice Munemitsu, author of “The Kindness of Color,” the of her family’s internment during World War II and their connection to the Mendez family of California’s landmark school desegregation case, Mendez, et. al v. Westminster (1947). This free event takes place at 2 pm in the City Hall Council Chamber, located at 200 Civic Center. 

Add your voice to the community collage 

Project background

clara breed

Over 80 years ago, the United States government evacuated and relocated more than 100,000 people of Japanese Americans on the West Coast after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.
 
Nearly 70,000 of the evacuees were American citizens. All lost personal liberties; most lost homes and property as well. 

While anti-Japanese sentiment swept California, San Diego children’s librarian Clara Breed took action in the face of injustice. An ordinary citizen, she did what she could, providing paper, envelopes, and stamps to her young Japanese-American library patrons and urging them to write after they were forced from their homes. 
 
The letters they sent paint a vivid picture of life in the internment camps and remind us of the power of kindness and compassion. A key theme that emerges in these letters is gratitude. Miss Breed provided a lifeline to her library patrons whose lives had been upended in a breech of civil liberties. 

Inspired by these letters, the Mission Viejo Library invites community members to participate in a gratitude letter-writing project that will culminate in a stunning work of collage art. 

 

How to participate

  • Participants must be ages 10 and up and reside in Orange County
  • Write a gratitude letter to someone who had a positive impact on you. You may write your letter at home or come to the library information desk for letter-writing supplies.
  • Submit your letter by Friday, February 21 at the library information desk. 
  • Sign a waiver granting permission to include your letter in the community collage. 
  • Please note that your submission is not a guarantee of inclusion in the collage. Letters will be reviewed and selected by Library & Cultural Services staff. 
  • If selected, we will use either use portions of your original letter or a high-quality reproduction. 
    • If you wish for your original letter to be used, please note that your letter will not be returned to you. 
    • If you wish to participate with a reproduction of your letter, library staff will make a high-quality reproduction of your letter at the time of submission. They will then return your original letter to you.

Letter-writing guidelines

  • The content of your letter must be appropriate for a general audience. 
  • Paper must be free of embellishments - a plain sheet of paper is preferred. 
  • Hand-write your letter with a plain black ink ballpoint pen or thin Sharpie. Use legible penmanship. 
  • Understand that the artist will incorporate portions of letters into the collage; your letter is unlikely to be presented in full. 

Letter-writing tips

Think about someone who did something for you for which you are grateful but to whom you never expressed your gratitude. This could be a relative, friend, teacher, or colleague. It might be someone who lives far away or is no longer alive. 

It may be helpful to select a person or act that you haven’t thought about for a while—something that isn’t always on your mind.
Now, write a letter to one of these people, guided by the following steps.

  • Write as though you are addressing this person directly (“Dear ______”).
  • Describe in specific terms what this person did, why you are grateful to this person, and how this person’s behavior affected your life. Try to be as concrete as possible.
  • Consider describing what you are doing in your life now and how you often remember their efforts.
  • Keep your letter to one page.

See the following sample letters for inspiration. 

Questions? Email arts@cityofmissionviejo.org for more information.