BIDDEFORD — History, war, racism, and what it means to be an American were the topics of a film show and discussion at Biddeford Middle School on Wednesday.

Hundreds of BMS students, packed tight in the school’s Performing Arts Center, gathered for a presentation by speaker Yosh Golden, 72, who was born in Manzanar Internment Camp during the widespread incarceration of 110,000 Japanese-Americans during World War II.

They were also granted the rare opportunity of viewing three short films — “The Orange Story,” “A Song for Manzanar” and “Tadaima” — all of which depicted the struggles of Japanese-American families during the Japanese Internment.

The showing and discussion were coordinated by the school’s band director, Amy Delorge. When she saw the films at the Asian-American Film Festival in New York City this past summer, she knew she wanted to share them with her students.

“They moved me so deeply, and I started to think how can I bring, as a band director, this information to my band,” she said. “I decided after a lot of research to program some music that would allow my students to perform music that would bring this history lesson to the classroom.”

But Delorge, who is Golden’s niece, said she wanted to do more.

“Beyond that, I decided, how could I maybe bring these films,” she said.

She wrote to the films’ producers and was able to secure the rights to show the films to the school’s students. The films hadn’t been shown publically except for film festivals anywhere else in the world, she said.

The purpose of bringing Golden to Biddeford from her residence in Springfield, Illinois, Delorge said, was to encourage students to see each other as equals.

“The only way everyone has an opportunity to prevent history from repeating itself is to learn about it and to learn that all people have value, and that we don’t judge people because of the way they look, or the religion they practice, or the color of their hair or the size and shape of their body, but by the way that we treat one another,” she said.

Golden, who now speaks to schools in and around Illinois, agreed.

“I myself believe that America is the most remarkable country in the world because of the philosophy ethic, the values that it is founded on, the values on the Statue of Liberty, because you say the ‘Pledge of Allegiance,’” she said. “It is entrusted with you, on you and expected of you that you will be the very best people you can possibly be.”

During discussions, held before and after the films were shown, Golden talked about what it was like to live at Manzanar: the tight living quarters, the rifle towers overlooking the prisoners and the long, cold walk between her barracks and the restroom — which was, of course, void of privacy.

“Block 22, apartment 1. That was my first address,” she told the crowd. “After many decades and discussions it is acceptable to talk about it as Manzanar Concentration Camp … This was really a prison camp. This was really a concentration camp.”

The Japanese interment was issued by an executive order signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Feb. 19, 1942, shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

During that time, more than 100,000 Japanese-Americans, mostly from states along the West Coast, were told to pack up their bags and head to some 10 internment camps, where they were imprisoned for four years.

“Always remember you have a wonderful, remarkable legacy and, once in awhile, it fails,” Golden said. “But Americans get up and they can be their best selves.”

Students took Golden’s lesson to heart. Many of them said they were only somewhat familiar with actions against the Japanese during World War II prior to her appearance at the school.

“I never really knew much about this until recently and I think it’s a pretty big deal,” said student Aushe Edmon. “I think Ms. Yosh’s story is really intriguing. I think it’s cool that she goes around talking to us about this.”

For others, Golden’s lesson struck a more personal chord. Like the Japanese in 1940s America, Maliha Raidah, a Muslim student from Bangladesh, knows all too well what it’s like to be looked at differently than her peers.

“Now that what’s going on with Trump and the Muslim ban, I think this impacted a lot of the students and teachers,” she said of President Donald Trump’s revitalized efforts to enact a travel ban on six Muslim-majority countries.

“I’m really thankful to (Golden) because not everybody knows how it feels to be a victim,” she said.

Raidah said Golden’s lessons are a reminder that one can be an American, no matter what skin color, religion or place of origin.

“I’m really young right now, so I don’t really understand the difference between white and black and other skin colors. I don’t think it really matters to me,” she said. “I don’t really care if someone doesn’t think that I’m an American. That’s their problem, not mine.”

Delorge’s words echoed Raidah’s.

“We are all worthy,” Delorge said “Our citizenship and our religion and our skin tone don’t predetermine the quality of our humanity.”

— Staff Writer Alan Bennett can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or [email protected].