Betty Bressi Papers

Elisabeth (Betty) Bressi (1917-2014) was born in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from St. Joseph’s College with a degree in education. She later earned a master’s and doctorate in education from Teachers College at Columbia University. Answering a job announcement to teach Japanese American children in the World War II concentration camps, Bressi left New York City in 1942 for the Jerome War Relocation Center in Arkansas where she befriended the family of artist Henry Sugimoto. Bressi’s time at Jerome ended before World War II was over, and she eventually returned to New York City. After a long career, she retired from art education in the mid-1970s and became a successful artist exhibiting in Staten Island and at the Museum of Modern Art. However, Bressi never forgot her time at Jerome and remained invested in issues surrounding Japanese American incarceration and activism, and the Redress Movement.

The Betty Bressi Collection offers a glimpse into the perspective of a white art teacher working at Jerome. While other collections have documented the histories of Japanese Americans in the camps and activists, very few have focused on white actors directly involved with them. Likewise, the collection reflects the impact that Japanese American incarceration continued to have on Bressi’s life after the War. Newspaper articles and clippings comprise the bulk of the collection. They are primarily excerpted from New York City-based publications such as the New York Times and Staten Island Advance. These articles comprise a unique collection that traces the development of the Redress Movement, media portrayals of Japanese American activism, as well as political discourse surrounding reparations. Additionally, Bressi’s experience is recounted in the collection through her unpublished memoir entitled “Teaching At Jerome Concentration Camp.”

To learn more about the contents of the Betty Bressi Papers, located at the NYU Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, view the collection’s finding aid. 

Image: Painting of Jerome War Relocation Center by Elisabeth (Betty) Bressi, 1975; Betty Bressi Papers; TAM.856; Box: Shared Tamiment 196; Folder 4; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.