Five Years, Kindness Exponential!
I can’t believe it has been 5 years since I published The Kindness of Color!
I had no idea it would be one of my top “retirement” priorities. Most of all, I have met so many wonderful people/readers, teachers, students, all advocates for kindness in their communities.
The photo scroll above are some of the highlights, but not all the memories I have of the last 5 years. I don’t have all the photos pictured here, but believe me, the memories are forever in my heart…(and somewhere on my iphone photo gallery!)
Guess how many groups I’ve spoken to about this history? I asked some friends who have witnessed this journey and have gotten answers of 50? 80? Maybe 100 groups over 5 years?
I kept a log of them, month by month, year by year, and when I counted the entries this week…. The answer is (drumroll, please….) 226! Some groups were 10 people, many were 25-35 classroom size, a few were in the 80-150+ people in assemblies, auditoriums, community events. Given I had to cancel quite a few when I had lung cancer surgery and chemotherapy in Fall 2024, and that I have no agent promoting me, this is quite amazing!
I’ve driven to schools and venues to share this history from San Diego to Santa Clarita, Venice to Palm Desert and once flew to Arizona State University for a symposium. I’ve braved the 405 freeway to Century City and the Museum of Tolerance from Orange County to share this history to educators and law enforcement from all over California! I’ve “zoomed” many times from coast to coast. My audiences have been as young as first graders to 65 + retired USC alumni, faculty and staff.
I would have never imagined 3 documentaries have been produced and aired that share this history. The first in 2002 was “Para Todos Los Ninos” by Director Sandra Robbie who is the first major and strongest advocate for Mendez, et al! Then in 2022, Chapman grad student/producer & director Brendan Bubion created “Growing Up Behind Barbed Wire,” an animated documentary short that premiered at the Newport Beach Film Fest! In May 2026, PBS KVIE/Sacramento premiered “Return to the Soil” which interviewed Sylvia Mendez and I about our joint Munemitsu/Mendez history!
My dad and grandpa would be shocked! And then they’d be amazed to see their story told on the US National Park website under “All American Stories.” They would both be so proud of that as grandpa immigrated from Japan in 1916, always living and working here as a loyal American of Japanese descent. In a small way, I hope this would redeem some of the sacrifice and hardship they persevered through before, during and after WWII and the incarceration camp experience. They were loyal to the US, through and through, and their lives of silent sacrifice and gambatte spirit proves it!
I did get a little curious about my Amazon rankings as I don’t often look at it.
Wow! The Kindness of Color is #622,987 of ALL books on Amazon on Friday 10/16/26. This is out of an estimated 300 million physical and digital books on Amazon. I’ve broken the glass ceiling of the top million books with Amazon sales! Probably more importantly, my book is #9,252 in the US State and Local History section! (One caveat, these numbers change all the time as new books are published and sold.) Yet with my 83 unsolicited endorsements and a 4.7 rating on Amazon, I had no idea how much this history would resonate with readers today. Thank you to all who rated it on Amazon!
Here are some of the great highlights of the past 5 years, and as we celebrate Mendez, et al. v. Westminster, et al. 80th anniversary next April 14, 2027, there is more, much, much more to come!
2021 – The Kindness of Color was published to share the history of how the Japanese American WWII experience is connected with Mendez, et al. v. Westminster, et al.
2022 – Mendez Tribute Monument Park was dedicated in Westminster, CA.
2022 - Ireicho, the book of names, was compiled with over 125,000 names of WWII incarcerees of Japanese ancestry and Japanese American descent.
2022 – Growing Up Behind Barbed Wire documentary debuted, produced by Brendan Bubion, tracing the Munemitsu family’s WWII incarceration and return to the farm. Click on this link and scroll to view…
https://www.thekindnessofcolor.com/
2023 – U.S. National Park Service published 6 articles about the Munemitsu/Mendez history on the nps.gov website within the “All American Stories” section.
2024 - The grandchildren of Frank Monroe were found! And a photo of Frank was provided by his granddaughter! Three families reunited - Munemitsu, Mendez, and Monroe - over 90 + years from the first meetings of our fathers/grandfathers!
2024 – Assembly Bill 1805 passed through the California State Assembly and Senate, requiring Mendez, et al. v. Westminster as mandatory subject matter in California public school curriculum standards for history and social science courses. Thanks to Assemblyman Tri Ta and Senator Tom Umberg for sponsoring this bi-partisan bill to the finish line!
2025 – Johnson Middle School mural of Seima and Seiko Tad Munemitsu was unveiled. Johnson Middle School is on the site of the former Munemitsu farm that the Mendez family leased during WWII.
2026 – Lead plaintiffs in Mendez, et al. honored with two school renamings: the dedication of Virginia and William Guzman Elementary School, Santa Ana School District, California (formerly Fremont Elementary) and the dedication of Frank and Irene Palomino Elementary School, Garden Grove Unified School District, California (formerly Rosita Elementary).
April 2026 – The City of Westminster dedicated the Mendez Freedom Trail on April 19, 2026, the 79th anniversary of the final federal court case ruling.
2026 – Breaking Down the Walls of Segregation, authored by Professor David-James Gonzales, was published, chronicling how the citrus industry and its need for laborers spawned segregated communities. This book includes the story of the Mendez, et al. case.
May 2026 – The US District Court (Central District) of California announced the naming of the Los Angeles federal courthouse as the Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez US Courthouse on May 27, 2026.
May 2026 – PBS Sacramento, KVIE, debuted Return to the Soil on May 27, 2026. The 25-minute documentary chronicles three stories of Japanese American farmers, before, during, and after WWII. Interviews with Janice Munemitsu and Sylvia Mendez are included in this documentary.
Watch via YouTube:
https://youtu.be/tqAhj9p1esc?si=Dtvf-xWvH_PqiwP6
Or via KVIE PBS website:
https://www.kvie.org/programs/viewfinder/?watch=return-to-the-soil-tqpl3i
July 2026 - The great nephew of Judge Paul McCormick was a high school classmate of a farm family relative! Kevin McCormick is a 4th generation constitutional attorney, and still has his great uncle’s gavel and desk. Kevin now joins this generation’s Mendez, et al family!
Coming up…April 14, 2027, the 80th anniversary of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals final ruling on Mendez, et al. v. Westminster, et al.
Thank you for being so supportive and an advocate for kindness in your own sphere of influence. Together, we are making a difference!
Kindness is…remembering those who helped you with gratitude. (pg. 55)
I am grateful for you! Thank you for your kindness! Gratefully yours, Janice
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