After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, over 120,000 Japanese Americans living on the west coast, including those in West Los Angeles, were forcibly relocated to internment camps. This was done through Executive Order 9066 signed by President Roosevelt in 1942, which allowed military commanders to designate "exclusion zones" and remove "any or all persons." As a result, Japanese Americans lost their homes, businesses, and properties and were confined for the duration of World War 2 due to fears they may be disloyal, despite no evidence of wrongdoing. Their internment highlighted the racial prejudices and civil rights violations that occurred during this period of time in the United States.
