Lillian Baker was a
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
author and lecturer.
She is known for supporting
Japanese-American Internment throughout her career.
Biography
Baker was the
widow
A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...
of a
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
veteran.
In the 1970s, Baker and others in
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
objected to the words "concentration camp" on a proposed state historical marker at the site of
Manzanar
Manzanar is the site of one of ten American concentration camps, where more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II from March 1942 to November 1945. Although it had over 10,000 inmates at its peak, it was one ...
.
She opposed efforts to designate Manzanar a
national historic site.
Baker downplayed the suffering of Japanese-American internees during the war.
She justified Japanese-American Internment, and opposed the government to formally apologize to interned Japanese Americans, and pay reparations to Japanese-American internees. During testimony in front of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC), Baker assaulted Nisei veteran James Kawaminami, attempting to snatch the papers from his hands.
She wrote several books on the topic of Japanese-American internment.
Lillian Baker was a founder of the Americans for Historical Accuracy.
She also founded the International Club for the Collection of Hatpins and Hatpin Holders. In 1976, she was regional campaign manager for S.I. Hayakawa's U.S. Senate bid in California.
Baker was awarded by the conservative
Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge
Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge (now Founding Forward) is an American non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian educational organization, founded in 1949. The foundation is located adjacent to the Valley Forge National Historical Park, near Vall ...
.
Baker died on October 21, 1996, at the age of 75 at her home in
Gardena.
See also
*
Michelle Malkin
Michelle Malkin (; Maglalang; born October 20, 1970) is an American conservative political commentator. She was a Fox News contributor and in May 2020 joined Newsmax TV. Malkin has written seven books and founded the conservative commentary ...
conservative blogger, political commentator, and author of
In Defense of Internment, which defended
Japanese American Internment
During World War II, the United States forcibly relocated and incarcerated about 120,000 people of Japanese descent in ten concentration camps operated by the War Relocation Authority (WRA), mostly in the western interior of the country. Abou ...
, and the
racial profiling
Racial profiling or ethnic profiling is the offender profiling, selective enforcement or selective prosecution based on race or ethnicity, rather than individual suspicion or evidence. This practice involves discrimination against minority pop ...
of
Arabs
Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world.
Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...
.
References
External links
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Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Lillian
1996 deaths