LOS ANGELES — Looking at different forms of resistance through the eyes, minds, and hearts of several artists will be the focus of the 2022 Manzanar At Dusk program, part of the annual Manzanar Pilgrimage, beginning at 5:00 PM PDT on Saturday, April 30, 2022, live and online via Zoom (videoconference).
The interactive Manzanar At Dusk program follows the 53rd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage that same day, premiering at 12:00 PM PDT on the Manzanar Committee’s YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/manzanarcommittee.
Now in its 24th year, Manzanar At Dusk is co-sponsored by the Manzanar Committee and the Nikkei Student Unions (NSU) at California Polytechnic University, Pomona; California State University, Fullerton (CSUF); California State University, Long Beach; the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); the University of California, Riverside); and the University of California, San Diego.
The 2022 Manzanar At Dusk program will highlight several artistic forms of resistance during and after the unjust incarceration of Japanese/Japanese American in American concentration camps during World War II.
“Our student partners will highlight the works of artists from different periods in history, how they used their work to resist oppression and racism, and look at that as possible inspiration for what’s going on today,” said Jason Fujii, Coordinator, Manzanar At Dusk.
Students have always played a significant role in the Manzanar At Dusk program, and that commitment has deepened over the last eleven years.
“Manzanar At Dusk is important for us and our members because it creates a space for us to share and connect our experiences with others in the community,” said Brooke Oto of the CSUF Nikkei Student Union. “Talking about stories and memories allows our history to continue.”
“The Manzanar Pilgrimage allows you to see a little of what the living conditions and everyday life in the camps was like,” added Oto. “But Manzanar At Dusk allows you to see it in the context of what is happening in your own community, and what we are going through now. It connects the past to the present.”
“We have delved deeply into the personal accounts of former incarcerees, and we’ve developed the necessary vocabulary and skills to teach this to others,” said Yua Watanabe of the Nikkei Student Union at UCLA. “We believe Manzanar At Dusk is crucial to educating others, especially the next generation, on the importance of remembering and learning from Japanese American History so that what happened to our community during World War II is not repeated.”
Student organizers stressed that Manzanar At Dusk is not just for Japanese Americans, or only for young people.
“People of all ages and backgrounds have something to gain from Manzanar At Dusk, whether that is simply an educational experience, or a way to connect with the community,” said Charlene Tonai Din of the Nikkei Student Union at UCLA. “As young Japanese Americans, we feel that learning about Manzanar and Japanese American History has allowed us to explore more of what it means to be of Japanese ancestry in America. This exploration of identity can be extended to people of all backgrounds, as we all navigate how to define ourselves and discover our roles in fighting injustice.”
“While the program specifically addresses Japanese American Incarceration at Manzanar, we will connect these experiences and historical events to contemporary issues, affecting diverse communities,”. added Din.
Both the 53rd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage program and the 2022 Manzanar At Dusk event are free and open to the public. Registration is required for the Manzanar At Dusk program. To register, go to https://forms.gle/kM9Jjh6cBiVmdEE18
.
For more information, call (323) 662-5102 or send e-mail to info@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 Committee on Facebook, on Twitter at @manzanarcomm, on Instagram at @manzanarcommittee, on Pinterest and on YouTube.
-30-
LEAD PHOTO: One of the small group discussions during the 2019 Manzanar At Dusk program. Photo by Gann Matsuda/Manzanar Committee.
;
The Manzanar Committee’s Official web site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. You may copy, distribute and/or transmit any story or audio content published on this site under the terms of this license, but only if proper attribution is indicated. The full name of the author and a link back to the original article on this site are required. Photographs, graphic images, and other content not specified are subject to additional restrictions. Additional information is available at: Manzanar Committee Official web site – Licensing and Copyright Information.