JAX Exchange - Spring 2026 - Magazine - Page 59

She shared with Book Club attendees, “25217C. That number is not on my arm, but it’s permanently in my head and
I have PTSD. I have dreams about going through all that. Each of us had to have a number.”
She also spoke about the resourcefulness that became a de昀椀ning trait of life inside the internment camps that her
and her family were sent to. First, to Pinedale Assembly Center in Clovis, then on to Poston Internment Camp in
Arizona. “It’s amazing what little pieces of wood that we found became useful material in the barracks,” she said.
That resourcefulness and resilience didn’t leave when the war ended; it carried her and her siblings forward into full,
accomplished lives.
Kiyo re昀氀ected on receiving a formal apology letter and a $20,000 stipend in 1988 when the Civil Liberties Act
passed. Saying, “I would much rather have been a free citizen and faced whatever, and not had gone through all this.”
“It is a time we need to acknowledge so it’s not repeated,” she told the room. When attendees asked what they could
do for her, her answer was simple: “Tell your story.”
This evening showed how a great book can become a doorway into a larger conversation, and in turn, a room full of
curious people can leave changed.
Our Library isn’t just shelves and silence. It’s where curiosity meets culture, and the books are begging to be
borrowed. We’ve got everything from memoirs that’ll make you cry to art books that’ll make you look cultured
(you’re welcome). Self-development? Check. Fiction that’ll keep you up past your bedtime? Also check.
The best part? We use an honest-to-goodness vintage library card system. You know, the kind with the little
pockets and date stamps that make you feel like you’re in a Nancy Drew novel. Every time you borrow a book,
you’re adding your name to a list of fellow readers, which is basically a built-in conversation starter. “Oh, you
read this too?” Boom. New friend. Or at least someone to debate the ending with. Consider it reading with a
side of community.
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