Darlene Mukoda is a Japanese American educator and oral historian whose work has focused on preserving the histories of Japanese Americans affected by wartime incarceration, postwar resettlement, and community rebuilding. Born and raised in Bridgeton, New Jersey, Mukoda is a third-generation descendant of Japanese American families who resettled at Seabrook Farms during and after World War II.
Her family’s connection to Seabrook began in the mid-1940s, when Seabrook Farms, a frozen food agribusiness led by Charles F. Seabrook, recruited Japanese Americans from incarceration camps such as Tule Lake and Jerome. The company also brought in Estonian, Ukrainian, and African American workers to meet wartime labor demands. For many Japanese American families, Seabrook offered one of the few options to leave camp and rebuild their lives, even if under challenging and often exploitative conditions.
Mukoda was shaped by the multiracial, multilingual environment of Seabrook Farms, where she grew up among families who had been displaced by war and injustice. She later attended Oberlin College and received a master’s degree in Asian American Studies from UCLA. Her academic and community work has centered on elevating stories of labor, migration, and resistance—particularly in rural and industrial spaces often overlooked in Japanese American history.
In the early 2000s, Mukoda became a core member of the Seabrook Educational and Cultural Center, helping to document and preserve the memories of those who lived and worked at Seabrook. Her contributions included curating exhibitions, conducting oral histories, and organizing public programming that connected Seabrook’s local legacy to broader national narratives of incarceration, labor, and civil rights. She also participated in the making of the documentary The Paradox of Seabrook Farms, which explores the contradictions of a place that was both a haven and a site of economic control.
In interviews, Mukoda has spoken movingly about the emotional impact of resettlement. Recalling her family’s first night in Seabrook after leaving the camps, she said, “It was like you’ve died and gone to heaven… To have an actual babydoll lying on my bed? It was so much joy to my heart.”¹ This sense of relief was tempered by the realities of life in a company town, where workers lived under surveillance and earned low wages in exchange for basic shelter and employment.
Mukoda has been a longtime advocate for historical memory and intergenerational justice. She has partnered with national organizations such as Tsuru for Solidarity and participated in pilgrimages to former incarceration sites, mentoring younger generations committed to equity and remembrance. Her life’s work reflects a belief in storytelling as a path to healing, accountability, and solidarity across communities.
Reference:
Densho Digital Repository. Darlene Mukoda Interview, conducted by Tom Ikeda. Courtesy of JACL Philadelphia. https://ddr.densho.org/interviews/ddr-phljacl-1-27-5.
