Breed, Clara Estelle, 1906-1994

Clara Breed, or "Miss Breed" as she was known by her young library patrons; Miss Breed was the children's librarian at San Diego Public Library from 1929 to 1945. When her young Japanese American patrons were forced into concentration camps with their families in 1942, Breed became their reliable correspondent, sending them books, assisting with requests for supplies, and through her actions, serving as a reminder of the possibility for decency and justice in a troubled world. Years later, Breed passed on the collection of letters she received to Elizabeth Kikuchi Yamada, one of the original correspondents.

Clara Estelle Breed (March 19, 1906 – September 8, 1994)[1] was an American librarian remembered chiefly for her support for Japanese American children during World War II. After the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, many residents of California who were of Japanese descent were moved to remote Japanese American internment camps where they stayed until the end of the war. Breed kept in communication with many of the children who were sent to the camps, sending reading materials and visiting them regularly.[2]

She worked for the San Diego Public Library system for more than 40 years, including 25 years as city librarian.
Clara Breed was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, in 1906; 1927 graduate of Pomona College, Breed received her master's degree in library science from Western Reserve University.[4] She gave the children self-addressed stamped postcards and told them to write to her and to tell her what they needed. When the children wrote, she responded and sent them not only reading materials but personal items such as soap and toothbrushes as well. Many of her former library patrons were sent to the Poston War Relocation Center internment camp in Arizona, where she visited them multiple times.[7]

Breed was an outspoken opponent of Executive Order 9066, the internment policy instituted by President Franklin Roosevelt in February 1942. She wrote to many members of Congress and wrote two published articles about the unfair treatment of the children and the other Japanese Americans placed in internment camps. "All but Blind"[8] appeared in Library Journal in 1943, and "Americans with the Wrong Ancestors" [9] appeared in The Horn Book Magazine the same year. She also wrote letters requesting that college-age students from the internment camps be allowed to attend school in the Midwest, and sent requests to reunite some of the fathers who were separated from their families because they had been deemed to be "security risks."[5]

Breed received more than 250 letters and postcards from the children during the time they were interned. One of the most prized gifts she received during this time was a carving of her name in manzanita wood that one of the children had created using the sharp end of a bed spring.[5] In 1955, Breed was named "San Diego Woman of the Year" by the San Diego Women's Service Council. In 1991, she was honored at the Poston Camp III reunion held in San Diego. In 1993 she received a commendation from President Bill Clinton.[6]