Official Web site of the Los Angeles-based Manzanar Committee, sponsor of the annual Manzanar Pilgrimage since 1969.
by Barbara Takei The first book I read about Japanese American history was Roger Daniels’ book, The Politics of Prejudice: The Anti-Japanese Movement in California and the Struggle for Japanese Exclusion. It was 1966, and in my research as a college freshman it was the rare book on Japanese American history, one that began Roger’s... Continue Reading →
The following is the text of a speech during our virtual 52nd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage on April 24, 2021. by Seia Watanabe Growing up, something always felt a little bit wrong. It felt wrong when teachers could not pronounce my name right, or when they mistook me for the other Asian girl in my class.... Continue Reading →
LOS ANGELES — On March 29, the Manzanar Committee announced that it has joined leaders from the Paiute, the Shoshone, the Timbisha Shoshone, and the Friends of the Inyo in opposing exploratory drilling and the proposed construction of an open-pit, cyanide heap leach mine at Conglomerate Mesa in Inyo County. The Manzanar Committee’s mission leads... Continue Reading →
The following is an official statement of the Manzanar Committee. At the end of World War II, our community was at a crossroads. Faced with the monumental task of rebuilding lives after the so-called “resettlement,” Japanese Americans had to navigate relating to a country that had just locked them away for no other reason than... Continue Reading →
The following is an official statement by the Manzanar Committee. LOS ANGELES — President-elect Joe Biden has nominated Representative Debra Haaland (D-New Mexico) to serve as the next Secretary of the Interior. The Japanese American community, especially all of us who are actively working to keep the story of “camp” and the forced removal alive,... Continue Reading →
Voting Rights: A Cornerstone of Our Democracy Voting is central to our democracy. The ability to have a voice in choosing who represents us, who makes decisions that impact our lives, our families, and communities, is a cornerstone of our democracy. Voting is key to the realization of the promise of the Constitution of the... Continue Reading →
by Glen Kitayama I met Lane back in 1989, when I was a young graduate student at UCLA, working with NCRR (at the time, the National Coalition for Redress/Reparations; now Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress) and researching the Redress Movement. At the time, Lane was a professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder. As... Continue Reading →
Democracy is a fragile concept. Only as good as the people who practice it. — Sue Kunitomi Embrey LOS ANGELES — The Manzanar Committee condemns the Trump Administration and the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) move to send federal agents into major cities around the country. It is a blatant attack on the movement for... Continue Reading →
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 →
Manzanar Committee 