Literature : Sylvia and Aki
I read this book in a children’s literature class. This story chronicles the lives of two young girls & their families who faced racial segregation during World War II. First, there is Aki Munemitsu, a Japanese-American, and her family who owns an asparagus farm, but is sent to internment camps after the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. Second, there is Sylvia Mendez, a Mexican-American, whose family takes over the farm from the Munemitsu family and the children are denied the ability to go to the local white school. Each chapter rotates between the girls’ perspectives sharing their experiences of being denied their rights. The characters in this story are real life individuals who faced these exact battles. Even more so, the father of Sylvia Mendez was the man who filed the Mendez vs. Westminster School District of Orange County and won, paving the way for future lawsuits that ultimately affirmed the decision in Brown vs. the Board of Education Topeka.
This book covers two large issues in American history, internment camps and racial segregation. After reading this book, I made artwork representing the white school which didn’t accept Sylvia's enrollment. I wanted to show the hostile climate toward people of color even at school. The reason I made this with eggs (white and yellow eggs) is to indicate that they have same inside regardless of their eggshell(skin) color.
