FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 20, 2007

"One Life...a Legacy for All," is the theme for the 38th annual Manzanar Pilgrimage, sponsored by the Manzanar Committee, which will be held on Saturday, April 28, 2007 at the Manzanar National Historic Site.

This year's event will honor the dedication, fighting spirit and the legacy left by Sue Kunitomi Embrey, who passed away in May, 2006.

Embrey, who was interned at Manzanar during World War II, was the former chair of the Manzanar Committee and was a founder of the Manzanar Pilgrimage. She was also the driving force behind the movement to create the Manzanar National Historic Site.

"Sue was very angry [about being interned]," said Rose Ochi, a former chair of the Manzanar National Historic Site Advisory Commission in a recent interview with the Ball State University Electronic Field Trips program. "But she took the anger and it fueled a lifetime dedicated to make certain that this story, this very tragic episode in this country's history, be memorialized in order to ensure that it would never happen to any group again."

"She used her anger to be a springboard for action," added Ochi. "And it fueled her to be a champion for change."

In addition to the afternoon program, the popular Manzanar After Dark program is scheduled for that evening.

Buses to the Pilgrimage will be available, one leaving from Little Tokyo and another, sponsored by the Gardena Valley YWCA. For reservations and information from Los Angeles, contact Tak Yamamoto at (818) 894-7723 and from the Gardena/Torrance area call (310) 327-5356 or takeyyamamoto@msn.com

Further details about the Pilgrimage will be announced at a later date.

For more information, please contact the Manzanar Committee at (310) 532-7562 or (310) 908-7508 or send e-mail to manzcomm@yahoo.com.