BUS FRON DOWNTOWN LA: Bus transportation from Downtown Los Angeles still available, but seats are going fast.
LOS ANGELES — Maytha Alhassen, a Ph.D. candidate in American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California, and a contributing author to I Speak For Myself: American Women on Being Muslim, will be a featured speaker at the 47th Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage, sponsored by the Manzanar Committee, on Saturday, April 30, 2016, at the Manzanar National Historic Site, located on U.S. Highway 395 in California’s Owens Valley, between the towns of Lone Pine and Independence, approximately 230 miles north of Los Angeles (see map below).
Cultural performances begin at 11:30 AM PDT, while the main portion of the program begins at 12:00 PM.
Each year, over 1,000 people from diverse backgrounds, including students, teachers, community members, clergy and former incarcerees attend the Pilgrimage, which commemorates the unjust incarceration of over 110,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry in ten American concentration camps, and other confinement sites, located in the most desolate, isolated regions of the United States, during World War II. Manzanar was the first of the American concentration camps to be established.
The theme for this year’s Pilgrimage is Kodomo No Tame Ni: For The Sake Of The Children – Liberty and Justice For All.
In addition to her Ph.D. work at USC, which includes studying race and ethnicity, social justice and the arts, travel and global flows, gender, media, and narrative healing, Alhassen’s work crosses various fields, including academic research, media engagement, and artistic expression.
A native of Southern California who received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Arabic and Islamic Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her Master of Arts degree in Sociocultural Anthropology from Columbia University, Alhassen is also a poet and performer/organizer for the play, Hijabi Monologues. She is also a co-host/digital producer on AI Jazeera English’s social media focused program, “The Stream,” and serves as a commentator on HuffPost Live. She has also written for CNN and the Huffington Post.
“The rhetoric we’re hearing these days that so often paints all Muslims as terrorists, or calling for a ban on all Muslims from immigrating to the United States, or even demanding their mass incarceration, is all too familiar for our community,” said Manzanar Committee Co-Chair Bruce Embrey. “The Japanese American community has a special responsibility to fight against such racism, hysteria and xenophobia, and to support our American Muslim brothers and sisters.”
“Ms. Alhassen is a powerful voice in the struggle to protect the Constitutional rights of all people,” added Embrey. “We’re honored that she’ll be joining us at the Pilgrimage.”
In addition to the afternoon event, the Manzanar At Dusk program follows that same evening, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM, at the Lone Pine High School auditorium, located at 538 South Main Street (U.S. Highway 395), in Lone Pine, nine miles south of the Manzanar National Historic Site, across the street from McDonald’s (see map below).
Manzanar At Dusk is co-sponsored by the Nikkei Student Unions at California State University, Long Beach, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of California, San Diego.
Through a creative presentation, small group discussions and an open mic session, Manzanar At Dusk participants will have the opportunity to learn about the experiences of those incarcerated in the camps. Participants will also be able to interact with former incarcerees in attendance to hear their personal stories, to share their own experiences, and discuss the relevance of the concentration camp experience to present-day events and issues.
The Manzanar Committee has also announced that seats on their bus to the Pilgrimage from Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo are still available, but are going fast.
The bus will depart at 7:00 AM, arriving at the Pilgrimage at approximately 11:30 AM, and will also take participants to the Visitor’s Center at the Manzanar National Historic Site following the afternoon program. The bus should arrive back in Los Angeles at approximately 8:30 PM.
Reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. The non-refundable fare is $40.00 per seat, $30.00 for students and seniors. Complimentary fares are available for those who were incarcerated at any of the former American concentration camps or other confinement sites during World War II.
Anyone wishing to attend the Manzanar At Dusk program that evening should make other transportation arrangements.
Pilgrimage participants are advised to bring their own lunch, drinks and snacks, as there are no facilities to purchase food at the Manzanar National Historic Site (restaurants and fast food outlets are located in Lone Pine and Independence, which are nearby). Water will be provided at the site.
Both the Manzanar Pilgrimage and the Manzanar At Dusk programs are free and are open to the public. For more information, or to reserve a seat on the bus, call (323) 662-5102 or send e-mail to 47thpilgrimage@manzanarcommittee.org.
The Manzanar Committee is dedicated to educating and raising public awareness about the incarceration and violation of civil rights of persons of Japanese ancestry during World War II and to the continuing struggle of all peoples when Constitutional rights are in danger. A non-profit organization that has sponsored the annual Manzanar Pilgrimage since 1969, along with other educational programs, the Manzanar Committee has also played a key role in the establishment and continued development of the Manzanar National Historic Site. For more information, check out our web site at https://manzanarcommittee.org, call us at (323) 662-5102, and e-mail us at info@manzanarcommittee.org. You can also follow the Manzanar Commitee on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.
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LEAD PHOTO: Maytha Alhassen. Photo: Gann Matsuda/Manzanar Committee
Manzanar National Historic Site
Lone Pine High School
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