PR - 2/14/05

Press Release 2/14/05

Thirty-Sixth Annual Pilgrimage to Manzanar Set for
Saturday, April 30, 2005

LOS ANGELES, CA - The 36th annual Pilgrimage to Manzanar will be held on Saturday, April 30, 2005, the Manzanar Committee announced this week. The program, co-sponsored by the Manzanar 9/11 Committee, will focus on “Retrospection and Relevance: Commemorating the First Manzanar Pilgrimage and its Meaning for Today.”

"We must not let history repeat itself. Muslim and Arab Americans are being held at Guantanamo Bay without charge or trial just like the Japanese Americans were for years during World War II. We must work to protect the civil liberties of all Americans from racial and institutional prejudice," said Manzanar Committee Chairperson Sue Embrey.

Manzanar is located approximately 200 miles north of Los Angeles on Highway 395. During World War II, it was a U.S. Government-run internment camp for 10,000 persons of Japanese ancestry. Eighty percent of the internees came from Los Angeles County.

Congress established Manzanar as a National Historic Site on Februrary 19, 1992, the 50th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin Roosevelt. Executive Order 9066 authorized the military to remove 110,000 men, women and children of Japanese ancestry living on the west coast, two-thirds of whom were American citizens.

Manzanar is now under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, which has been restoring and maintaining the site since it was transferred in 1997 from the City of Los Angeles, Department of Water and Power, to the Department of the Interior.

In the tradition begun by the Manzanar Committee to "Raise the Banner" and recognize the various camps, former internees of Minidoka, Idaho, will be honored. Minidoka was designated as a National Monument by Executive Order by President Bill Clinton.

The Manzanar Committee is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, all-volunteer organization that depends on community support to hold its yearly pilgrimages. Contributions may be sent to the Manzanar Committee, 1566 Curran Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026. Click on http://www.manzanarcommittee.org or write to sueke[at]msn[dot]com for further information and updates.