The 2015 winner is: Jordan Stanger-Ross, “Telling a Difficult Past” Kishizo Kimura’s Memoir of Entanglement in Racist Policy” BC Studies, no 181, Spring 2014.
In this well-written and tightly argued article, Jordan Stanger-Ross tells the story of Kishizo Kimura, a Japanese Canadian who was involved in the liquidation of the property of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War. Through a close reading of Kimura’s unpublished memoir, Stanger-Ross explores this much-discussed period of Canadian history from a new angle, providing an intimate window into Japanese Canadian power brokerage and Kimura’s privileged position as a Japanese businessman and community organizer. The article serves to unfix stereotypes and blur the boundaries of history, nation, race, and ethnicity. Stanger-Ross offers an important reflection on history and memory, and tackles a difficult subject with nuance and grace.