LOS ANGELES — Being part of the Manzanar Committee, and having served on the Manzanar National Historic Site Advisory Commission from 1994-2002, I have had the opportunity to meet and work with most of the National Park Service (NPS) employees who have served on staff at Manzanar since it became a unit of the NPS... Continue Reading →
Playwright and Activist Hiroshi Kashiwagi Decries “Another Fence At Tule Lake”
The following letter to the editor by playwright/poet and former Tule Lake incarceree Hiroshi Kashiwagi was submitted to the Herald and News, the daily newspaper in Klamath Falls, California, not far from the site of the former Tule Lake Segregation Center, in response to their story on the controversy about the proposed perimeter fence that... Continue Reading →
Flood Damage At Manzanar NHS Could Have Been Much Worse
UPDATED with new photos of flood damage released on July 27, 2013. Manzanar’s auto tour road re-opened on July 29. LOS ANGELES — After news spread of flood damage at Manzanar National Historic Site, the result of heavy thunderstorms on the night of July 22-23, 2013, there was concern, generated by photos posted on Facebook... Continue Reading →
Call To Action: STOP The Fence At Tule Lake
Over the last year, the Federal Aviation Administration has moved closer to building a fence to protect the airstrip at the site of the Tule Lake Unit of the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument that would destroy the historic character of the site. The Tule Lake Committee has launched a petition... Continue Reading →
44th Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage: In Photographs
A few days have passed since the 44th Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage, and the 2013 Manzanar At Dusk program, held last Saturday, April 27, 2013. Members of the Manzanar Committee returned to Southern California on Sunday after a lot of hard work, especially in the days just prior to the events, and of course, on Saturday.... Continue Reading →
Five Who Were Incarcerated At Manzanar Featured in National Park Service’s Civil War to Civil Rights Trading Cards
The following is a press release from the National Park Service. INDEPENDENCE, CA — Trading cards have been popular with kids for generations, from images of sports figures to movie stars. Now, Manzanar National Historic Site is offering free trading cards featuring five people who were incarcerated at Manzanar War Relocation Center between March 1942... Continue Reading →
Manzanar Committee Opposes Construction Of Proposed Perimeter Fence At Tule Lake
LOS ANGELES — On June 2, the Los Angeles-based Manzanar Committee announced its opposition to a proposed perimeter fence at the Tulelake Municipal Airport, operated by the County of Modoc. The proposed fence would enclose the perimeter of the airport, which was part of the Tule Lake Segregation Center during World War II. According to... Continue Reading →
Manzanar Committee Urges Japanese American Citizens League To Ratify Power Of Words Handbook
LOS ANGELES — On May 27, the Los Angeles-based Manzanar Committee announced that it has endorsed the Power of Words Draft Handbook that is expected to be voted on at the National Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) Convention in Seattle, Washington, July 5-8, 2012. The Power of Words Draft Handbook is an attempt by some... 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 →