CULTURAL: UCLA Nikkei Student Union Odori group to lead traditional Ondo dancing at 43rd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage LOS ANGELES — UCLA Kyodo Taiko will perform at the 43rd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage, sponsored by the Los Angeles-based Manzanar Committee, scheduled for 12:00 PM PDT on Saturday, April 28, 2012, at the Manzanar National Historic Site, located... Continue Reading →
Open Letter To USC President C.L. Max Nikias Regarding Honorary Degrees To Japanese American Students Forced To Leave Campus During WWII
The following is an open letter to C.L. Max Nikias, President of the University of Southern California. It is published here with permission of the author. C.L. Max NikiasOffice of the President University of Southern CaliforniaLos Angeles, CA 90089-4019 Dear President Nikias: I’m writing as the great granddaughter of USC’s first dean of the College... Continue Reading →
Rose Ochi To Receive 2012 Sue Kunitomi Embrey Legacy Award at the 43rd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage
LOS ANGELES — On April 2, the Los Angeles-based Manzanar Committee announced that Rose Ochi, a key figure in the establishment of the Manzanar National Historic Site, and long-time pro bono legal counsel for the Manzanar Committee, has been chosen as the 2012 recipient of the Sue Kunitomi Embrey Legacy Award. The award, named after... Continue Reading →
Honorary Degrees Only For Living Japanese Americans Forced To Leave USC During WWII Not Enough
COMMENTARY: USC must change course and award honorary degrees, not just to living Japanese American students who were forced to leave the campus during World War II, but also to those who have since passed away. USC should also apologize for its racist, unjust treatment of its Nisei students in 1942. LOS ANGELES — Over... Continue Reading →
Revisiting Camp and Community: A Consideration of Its Relevance for the 2012 Day of Remembrance at the Manzanar National Historic Site
Dr. Arthur A. Hansen, Professor Emeritus of History and Asian American Studies, California State University, Fullerton, was the guest lecturer at the Manzanar National Historic Site, February 18-19, 2012, when he discussed Manzanar in a local, Owens Valley-related context, while highlighting universal themes such as fear, friendship, loss, and loyalty. The lectures were held in... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
