70th Anniversary of Executive Order 9066: Japanese American Incarcerees Tell Their Stories To National Public Radio In Nevada

This month, the Japanese American community reflects upon its past through Day of Remembrance programs, commemorating the February 19, 1942 signing of Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which authorized the forced removal and unjust incarceration of over 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast during World War II. This year... Continue Reading →

February 27, 2012 0

43rd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage, 2012 Manzanar At Dusk Program – April 28, 2012: Bus Transportation Available From Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES — The 43rd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage, sponsored by the Los Angeles-based Manzanar Committee, is scheduled for 12:00 PM PDT on Saturday, April 28, 2012, at the Manzanar National Historic Site, located on US Highway 395 in California’s Owens Valley, between the towns of Lone Pine and Independence, approximately 230 miles north of Los... Continue Reading →

February 20, 2012 6

Cast in Bronze: Terminology Symposium in San Francisco, October 22, 2011

By Soji Kashiwagi The main reason for holding a day-long symposium on terminology and the use of U.S. government euphemisms during World War II was not, according to event organizers, to take on the role of the “word police” and tell members of the Japanese American community what they should or should not say regarding... Continue Reading →

January 30, 2012 13

National Defense Authorization Act: Nikkei Community Must Redouble Efforts To Defend Constitutional Rights

by Bruce Embrey LOS ANGELES — President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on December 31, 2011, allowing indefinite detention without charge or trial to be codified into law. As a result, Americans citizens and others could be subjected to imprisonment without ever being charged or convicted of a crime. This provision of... Continue Reading →

January 25, 2012 1

Deporting “Troublemakers” Redux

Editor’s Note: Like Soji Kashiwagi, Tule Lake Committee leader Barbara Takei recently shared her thoughts on the National Defense Authorization Act that was recently signed by President Obama, more specifically, two companion bills. Her commentary piece is published here with permission. Time of Remembrance observances are coming up in another few weeks, a good time... Continue Reading →

January 25, 2012 2

Open Letter To President Obama Protesting The Signing Of The National Defense Authorization Act

Playwright Soji Kashiwagi, who is active with the Tule Lake Committee, recently wrote a letter to President Barack Obama, criticizing him for signing the National Defense Authorization Act on December 31, 2011. Kashiwagi, who writes from Pasadena, California, has graciously permitted us to repint it here. January 10, 2012 The Honorable Barack Obama President of... Continue Reading →

January 24, 2012 3

43rd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage, 2012 Manzanar At Dusk Program To Be Held On April 28, 2012

January 22, 2012 4

Dancing With Grace – Gracious And Graceful

Editor’s Note: The following piece by Jenni Kuida, a tribute to former Manzanar Committee member Grace Harada, was originally published in January 2002, in the Rafu Shimpo. She posted a link to her story on Facebook on January 18, commemorating the tenth anniversary of Harada’s passing. We thought it would be a fitting tribute to... Continue Reading →

January 19, 2012 0

Manzanar Committee Statement On The Passing Of Civil Rights Champion Gordon K. Hirabayashi

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles-based Manzanar Committee extends its deepest sympathies to the family of Gordon Kiyoshi Hirabayashi, 93, a hero in the Japanese American community, who died on January 2, 2012, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. A native of Auburn, Washington (just northeast of Tacoma), Hirabayashi defied Executive Order 9066, the United States Government’s... Continue Reading →

January 4, 2012 4