Four Japanese-American boy scouts in 1935
Although prejudice and racism against Japanese-Americans was still very much prevalent in the 1930s, there were initiatives to improve their image.(Maeda) Even in the internment camps Japanese American children joined the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, with the Girl Scouts numbering 743 members in Manzanar and Topaz. (Densho) There was an incident at Manzanar on the anniversary of Pearl Harbour when tensions were very high and some pro-Japanese internees attempted to take down the American flag. The Boy Scouts defended it by standing around the base of the flagpole, and they were successful. (Peterson) However, despite this display of loyalty and others, Japanese-Americans were often viewed badly (one stereotype was as gamblers), and although they created committees to eradicate things such as gambling there was a significant divide between them and any white neighbours.(Maeda) After the war, when children attempted to join or rejoin the scouts outside of internment camps, they faced discrimination and were told they could not rejoin. Shimako Kitano was one of them, and she spoke about how she was unable to rejoin being told that “the kids are too far advanced now.” She also tried to join the Rainbow Girls, and they said that because she was Japanese she was not accepted. (Densho)