In 1942, approximately 120,000 people of Japanese descent — most of them either Nisei [second generation] or Sansei [third generation], citizens by birth — were forcibly relocated from their homes along the West Coast into 10 internment camps scattered throughout the country. This was done under an executive order issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose military leaders claimed the existence of potentially disloyal Japanese-Americans who could not be separated from the community at large. These leaders cited not only direct defense concerns but also civilian morale and other broad wartime considerations as added reasons the relocation was necessary.
One such Nisei was Gordon Hirabayashi, whose story is the focus of the play Hold These Truths, appearing now at Luna Stage in West Orange. The one-person play stars Joel de la Fuente, giving a tour-de-force performance as Gordon, his friends, his parents, the police, judges, lawyers and others who became involved with his story.
Gordon as a middle-aged man eases us into his story with a meditation on the words “We hold these truths to be self-evident” from the Declaration of Independence. The story goes back toward the end of the 1930s, with the young Gordon graduating high school and heading off to the University of Washington. When the head of military security for the West Coast initiates a curfew for those of Japanese descent, Gordon breaks it deliberately, challenging its legality as racial discrimination. His case reaches the Supreme Court, which eventually unanimously rules against him.
Gordon hitchhikes to a work camp in Arizona where he will serve his time. Meanwhile, his family is caught up in the mass deportation of Japanese to the camps. Gordon, along with a few other native-born Asian-Americans, battles the relocation order as denying citizens of their Constitutional right to due process.
After the war, Gordon returns to college to earn a doctorate in sociology and embarks upon a teaching career in Lebanon, Egypt and Canada. The discovery of hidden government documents from the war years allows Gordon to get his original case reopened.
Jeanne Sakata’s script for Hold These Truths had its initial performances in 2007 by the Asian-American theatre company East West Players under the title Dawn’s Light: The Journey of Gordon Hirabayaki. Lisa Rothe’s direction combined with de la Fuente’s acting skills brings Hirabayashi’s story to life. Sakata, Rothe and de la Fuente allow Gordon’s story to unfold, preserving the surprise of each of the steps on his journey even though the story is fairly well known.
These days, when the Constitution is under attack from within and faith in our institutions waning, Hold These Truths is a welcome tonic. It is a true story of a lone citizen standing up for the rights of the individual against an overheated, panicky society. It sends a message that our rights are worthy of, and need, defending every single day. I strongly recommend seeing Hold These Truths before its limited engagement ends.
Hold These Truths is presented at Luna Stage in West Orange through Oct. 18. For more information, or to purchase tickets, go to lunastage.org.
