Enduring Democracy: The Monterey Petition (film)

Documentary film that tells the story of a petition signed by over four hundred white residents of the Monterey Bay area urging acceptance of returning Japanese Americans that appeared in the local newspaper in May 1945, claimed to be the only such petition to emerge from any West Coast area.

The film begins with the discovery of the petition—along with a copy of a 1938 Monterey JACL film titled "The Candid Parade"—in 2013 at the former JACL Hall in Monterey before profiling a prewar Monterey where Japanese Americans co-existed harmoniously with Italian Americans and other ethnic groups in the fishing and farming industries. But inevitably, the local Nikkei are forcibly removed and incarcerated during World War II. In April 1945, an anti-Japanese ad appeared in the Monterey Peninsula Herald , which was traced to a Salinas lawyer named Edward Seifert, who had been active in anti-Japanese circles since the 1930s, with the support of local farmers. In response, local residents wrote many letters in support of the rights of returning Japanese Americans, and eventually launched a petition drive that included such notables as novelist John Steinbeck, marine biologist Ed Ricketts and his common-law wife Toni Jackson Ricketts, and poet Robinson Jeffers. Many children of the signatories recall their parents' and their possible motivations for signing, while Japanese Americans recall the impact of the incarceration and of the petition. Other interviews highlight the parallels with the present and the importance of vigilance against racism and scapegoating. In addition to footage from "The Candid Parade" and other archival sources, director David C. Schendel uses actors to recreate key scenes. Original music was composed by Matt Montgomery and Tom Disher.

After the discovery of the original petition, the JACL Monterey Heritage Center subsequently began the film project in 2015 under the title "Profiles in Courage and Compassion." The organization hired Schendel in April 2016 and filming began two months later. Additional interviews were filmed in various Monterey locations from October 31 to November 3, 2017. Grants for $10,000 from CA Humanities and the Go For Broke Foundation in June 2016 and for $80,000 from the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program in 2020 provided funding for the film. ^[1]

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