Caroline Ferguson

Contributor

Caroline Ferguson is a PhD student in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER) at Stanford University. Her research and writing explore the intersections of identity, empire, and environmental justice in Oceania. Keep up with her at www.ceferguson.com

Marshallese-Americans commemorate 73 years in exile

From 1946 to 1958, the U.S. tested sixty-seven nuclear weapons in the Marshall Islands. Today, some who left dream of going home.

On March 1, 1954, John Anjain was awakened by a deafening boom. When he ran outside of his house to investigate, he was greeted by a kaleidoscope sky: brilliant colors filled the heavens. It was early morning on Rongelap Atoll, a ring of islands in the vast sea between Hawai’i and Guam. The largest nuclear weapon that had ever been tested by the U.S. military was now raining radioactive powder down on his island.