Mary Murakami was fourteen when her family was sent to Topaz Internment Camp in Delta, Utah. However, this was not her first experience with racial discrimination. In 1941, following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, government laws against Japanese Americans became increasingly restrictive. Eventually, her family was forced to give up all of their belongings and move from Los Angeles to Topaz, where she and her family were incarcerated for over two years. 

In February 1945, Murakami left Topaz to pursue higher education in college. She attended the University of California, Berkeley, as one of the first Japanese Americans from the internment camps, earning a Bachelor of Science in Public Health as well as minoring in Microbiology. She then supported her husband’s tuition by working for a public laboratory in Virginia. There, she witnessed the rampant discrimination towards black people, which helped to deepen her commitment to social justice.

Murakami has shared her personal experiences with students, soldiers, and other diverse audiences to raise awareness on racial discrimination. She advocates not just for Japanese Americans but for minorities of all races and backgrounds. She shares her story to prevent others from forgetting and to ensure future generations will not allow the same mistakes to happen. Her story is one of resilience, persistence in the face of adversity, and her determination to fight inequality for a brighter future.