In response to recent racist incidents at Charles H. Wilson Park in Torrance, California, more than 100 joined together at the park on July 11 to protest the inaction of the Torrance city attorney, who declines to file charges for the Wilson Park incidents, citing insufficient evidence. Members of the Manzanar Committee participated in the... Continue Reading →
Jason Fujii, Lauren Matsumoto Featured on Yon-Say Podcast
Nikkei Rising, featuring the voices of younger Japanese Americans, is presenting the Yon-Say podcast as part of Tadaima! A Community Virtual Pilgrimage. For those who may not be aware, “Yon-Say” is a play on words off of the term, yonsei, which means fourth generation Japanese American. In episode 3 of their podcast, entitled, “An American... Continue Reading →
Manzanar Committee Decries Racist Violence Targeting African Americans
LOS ANGELES — The Manzanar Committee condemns the current wave of racist violence directed against the African American community, especially the recent murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd. As survivors and descendants of America’s World War II concentration camps, we stand with the Black community and raise our voices and channel our... Continue Reading →
Q & A with Long-Time Activist and Mentor Alan Nishio
by Glen Kitayama Alan Nishio, who is the keynote speaker for our 2020 Virtual Manzanar Pilgrimage, was awarded the Manzanar Committee’s 2017 Sue Kunitomi Embrey Award for his leadership during the Redress Movement in the 1980s, along with his decades-long activism in the Japanese American community. He was involved in building the local chapter of... Continue Reading →
2020 Virtual Manzanar Pilgrimage – WATCH HERE
For 2020, given the stay-at-home and social/physical distancing requirements throughout the country due to the COVID-19 virus pandemic, the traditional 51st Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage, where thousands of people gather at the Manzanar National Historic Site on the last Saturday in April, was cancelled. That is, the traditional Manzanar Pilgrimage has been cancelled. As such, the... Continue Reading →
Manzanar Committee’s Virtual Manzanar Pilgrimage Scheduled for 11:30 AM Launch on April 25
LOS ANGELES — On April 21, the Manzanar Committee announced that, in lieu of the traditional Manzanar Pilgrimage, held annually at the Manzanar National Historic Site, this year’s program will be a “Virtual Manzanar Pilgrimage,” to be released on the Committee’s web site at 11:30 AM Pacific time on Saturday, April 25, 2020. “We are... Continue Reading →
Falling Back on the Model Minority Myth Will Not End Anti-Asian Racism, Xenophobia, Violence
LOS ANGELES — On April 6, the Manzanar Committee rejected comments made by former Presidential candidate Andrew Yang in an op-ed piece in the April 1, 2020 edition of the Washington Post. In “We Asian Americans Are Not the Virus, but We Can Be Part of the Cure,” Yang stated that, “...to keep the coronavirus... Continue Reading →
Manzanar Auto Tour Road to Close for Chip Sealing Beginning April 6, 2020
The following is a press release from the National Park Service. INDEPENDENE, CA — Beginning Monday, April 6, 2020, portions of one-mile frontage road and 3.2-mile auto tour road at Manzanar National Historic Site will be closed for chip sealing. The auto tour road, which was paved in 2018 to improve access and safety by... Continue Reading →
Manzanar Committee Denounces Anti-Asian Racism, Xenophobia, Violence Fueled by COVID-19 Virus-Related Hysteria
LOS ANGELES — On March 20, the Manzanar Committee denounced the racism, xenophobia and violent attacks targeting Asians/Asian Americans resulting from COVID-19 virus-related hysteria, much of it fueled by President Donald Trump referring to the virus as the “China Virus” or the “Chinese Virus,” and his staff referring to it as the “Kung Flu,” despite... Continue Reading →
