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Sam Mihara

Award-Winning Writer & History Educator; Survivor of Japanese American Incarceration During World War II

Sam Mihara
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Live Event: $10,000 - $20,000
Virtual Event: $5,000 - $10,000
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Categories Categories:
Asian & Pacific Heritage, Civil Rights, Diversity & Inclusion, Education, Government, History, Immigration, Literary, Overcoming Adversity, Social Activism
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Sam Mihara Biography

Sam Mihara is a second-generation Japanese American (Nisei) born and raised in San Francisco. When World War II broke out, the United States government using armed military guards forced Sam, age 9, and his family to move to the Heart Mountain, Wyoming prison camp. It was one of 10 such camps in the country that together housed over 120,000 West Coast residents of Japanese ancestry, most of them U.S.-born American citizens. Sam and his family lived in one room, 20 by 20 feet square in a barrack for three years. Our entire family living in one small room with no utilities, poor food at the start, embarrassing toilets, severe medical problems and cold winters as low as minus 28 deg. F. in blizzards.

After the war ended, the family returned home to San Francisco. Sam attended Lick Wilmerding High School, U.C. Berkeley undergraduate and UCLA graduate schools, where he earned engineering degrees. He became a rocket scientist and joined the Boeing Company where he became an executive on space programs. Following retirement, Sam changed careers – he became a national speaker on the topic of mass injustice in the U.S. He has visited many federal prisons including today’s detention facilities for undocumented immigrants. Sam helped in the education and preservation of the Heart Mountain historic prison site in Northwest Wyoming. Since 2014, he is a board member of the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, the non-profit organization that oversees the National Historic Landmark site. And Sam is a member of the Japanese American Citizens League, SELANOCO Chapter.

Sam speaks to educators, schools, libraries, government attorneys, law schools, law firms and other interested organizations about his wartime experience and today’s prisons. Sam is a frequent guest lecturer at national history conferences, U.C. Berkeley, UCLA, Harvard and Columbia Law Schools, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Congress. In February 2018, In April of 2018, Sam was selected as keynote speaker for the National Council for History Education (NCHE) Conference which was held in San Antonio, Texas. During the conference, Sam was awarded the prestigious Paul Gagnon Prize as the history educator of the year – the first time to a Japanese American and the first west of the Mississippi. With approximately 100,000 history teachers in the U.S., this top award is a special honor. And Sam usually ends his presentations with a discussion of the lessons learned from this injustice and how the lessons apply to today’s problems such as immigration and racial issues. In March 2019, Sam gave speeches and written to Congressional members and staff on the lessons learned from the prison experience that apply to today’s issues including immigration and the need to support funding for education. In August, 2022, Sam was awarded the Japanese American Citizens League’s prestigious honor, The Biennium Award for Education.

To date, Sam has delivered over 450 speeches to over 90,000 students of all ages in the U.S. , Asia and Europe. Mihara is the recipient of the government's Jefferson Lecturer Award for 2024.

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Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 08/16/2024.

Sam Mihara Speaking Topics

  • Memories of Five Nisei

    Why were Japanese families removed from the West Coast states but not from other states? Why were U.S. families from German and Italian backgrounds not imprisoned? Are you bitter against the U.S. government? Once you returned to San Francisco after the war, how did you cope with the hatred that had driven you from home?

    These and other frequently asked questions are answered in Sam’s compelling story about the imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

FAQs on booking Sam Mihara

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  • What topics does Sam Mihara speak about?

    Sam Mihara is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Asian & Pacific Heritage, Civil Rights, Diversity & Inclusion, Education, Government, History, Immigration, Literary, Overcoming Adversity, Social Activism.

  • Where does Sam Mihara travel from?

    Sam Mihara generally travels from an undisclosed location, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.

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Sam Mihara is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as Memories of Five Nisei. The estimated speaking fee range to book Sam Mihara for your event is $10,000 - $20,000. Sam Mihara generally travels from and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Van Jones, No-No Boy, Shiza Shahid, Juan Williams and Tony Plana. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Sam Mihara for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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