Editor’s Note: The 2020-21 Katari program, which is usually held in early November at the Manzanar National Historic Site, had to be moved to an online format due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the loss of the extremely important placed-based learning component of the program, by all accounts, it seems that we were able to... Continue Reading →
Manzanar Committee Mourns the Passing of Rose Ochi
LOS ANGELES — The Manzanar Committee mourns the passing of former Manzanar Committee member Takayo Rose Matsui Ochi on December 13, just two days before she would have turned 82 years old. Ochi, a native of East Los Angeles, was three years old when she, along with her parents and three siblings, were among over... Continue Reading →
Voting is a Right in a Democracy
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 →
Passing Judgment: From The Manzanar Free Press, August 26, 1942
The following is being reprinted from the August 26, 1942 edition of the Manzanar Free Press (camp newspaper). The sending of over two thousand absentee ballots to Japanese evacuee citizens in assembly and relocation centers has brought divergent views, mostly critical, in the metropolitan newspapers of Los Angeles. The majority of the people interviewed by... 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 →
51st Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage and 2020 Manzanar at Dusk CANCELLED
ALTERNATIVE PILGRIMAGE: Planning is underway for an alternative Manzanar Pilgrimage. LOS ANGELES — On April 16, the Manzanar Committee announced that the 51st Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage and the 2020 Manzanar At Dusk program, both scheduled for Saturday, April 25, 2020, have been cancelled due to health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 virus pandemic.... 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 →