Manzanar Committee

09/21/2026

"Mass detention of marginalized individuals without due process harkens back to some of the darkest moments in our country's history," Berner wrote. The judge pointed to the detention of Chinese immigrants under the Geary Act in the 1890s and the wartime internment of Japanese Americans, noting that nearly 120,000 people were sent to internment camps during World War II.

"The stain of these detentions on our nation—and the judiciary's abdication of its obligation to protect basic freedoms—continues to haunt us," the opinion said.

https://www.newsweek.com/ice-mandatory-detention-appeals-court-ruling-trump-administration-12426577

The ruling is the latest in a series of Appeals Court decisions against the Trump administration's mandatory detention policy.

09/18/2026

Congratulations on this important milestone!

The Torrance City Council unanimously voted Tuesday, September 15, 2026, to move forward with the World War II Japanese American Incarceration Monument Project, a landmark memorial planned for Columbia Park that will preserve the names and stories of Japanese Americans who were unjustly incarcerated during World War II.

The project was envisioned by the late Dr. Kanji Sahara, a longtime Torrance resident and WWII incarceration survivor, in partnership with the nonprofit WWII Camp Wall to create a permanent place for remembrance, education and reflection.

Deep gratitude to all involved in this, including and many Manzanar Committee and community members

https://www.torranceca.gov/Government/Newsroom/WWII-Monument

07/24/2026

Rest in peace and power, Iku.

Beautiful tribute by Manzanar Committee's Vice Chair Glen Kitayama.

(Nov. 12, 1939 – June 28, 2026) By GLEN KITAYAMA Iku Kiriyama wore many hats during her life, but her curiosity and passion for education were perhaps the common thread that connected everything. She was a beloved English and Japanese language teacher at Monroe High School, co-founder of the Japan...

07/11/2026

Elaine Black Yoneda was a member of the manzanar committee and attended the first pilgrimage in 1969. Learn more about this incredible leader here:

During World War II, one Jewish woman volunteered to be incarcerated.

July 8, 2025: Together in Manzanar: The True Story of a Japanese Jewish Family in an American Concentration Camp by Tracy Slater was released.

The book tells the true story of Karl Yoneda, a Japanese American labor organizer incarcerated during World War II, his wife Elaine Black Yoneda, a Jewish American activist, and their young son Tommy.

Elaine had a choice.

As a Jewish American, she was not subject to Executive Order 9066. She could have remained free while her husband and son were sent behind barbed wire.

She chose to enter Manzanar with them.

For months, the family lived together inside an American concentration camp, sharing the same uncertainty, restrictions, and hardships as thousands of Japanese American families.

Their story also challenges the misconception that the camps held only Japanese Americans. They also held children of mixed heritage and, in rare cases, non-Japanese family members who refused to be separated from those they loved.

For decades, Karl, Elaine, and Tommy’s story remained largely unknown.

Tracy Slater’s Together in Manzanar finally brought it to light.

quietamericans.com/together-in-manzanar

06/13/2026

Breaking news 🎉

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore all signs at national parks within 21 days.

In the ruling the judge wrote:
"Plaintiffs have demonstrated a likelihood that Defendants’ efforts, ostensibly taken in the name of restoring dignity, instead seek to rewrite the Nation’s history with a white-out pen. History cannot be faithfully told while excluding the experiences of communities whose contributions, struggles, and achievements form an important part of our Nation’s story. Indeed, at a time of facts and alternative facts, the only thing we must be able to rely on as undeniable truth is history. And telling the full truths of our shared story helps our Nation heal from past wrongs, rather than prolonging us.

Because Defendants deemed it important to strip the parks of these undeniable truths in anticipation of the 250th Anniversary of our great Nation, it is equally important that our shared history be honestly told and fully restored by the 250th Anniversary to properly honor the remarkable achievements of the United States."

Read more at: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-06-12/trump-administration-ordered-to-restore-national-park-signage-on-climate-change-slavery

05/18/2026

The Nikkei community lost a giant this week with the passing of Kyoko Nancy Oda. Born at the Tule Lake concentration camp in 1945 to Tatsuo and Yuriko Inouye, Kyoko dedicated her life to service as a teacher and principal in the Los Angeles Unified School District, president of the San Fernando Valley Japanese American Community Center, and president of the Tuna Canyon Detention Station Coalition. 

Kyoko devoted much of her life to telling her father’s story in the Tule Lake Stockade – a prison within the Tule Lake Segregation Center. Because of the stigma attached to Tule Lake inmates, Tatsuo did not talk about his experiences for many years until Kyoko encouraged him to attend the Pilgrimages to Poston, Manzanar, and Tule Lake in the 1970s. At some point during their travels, Kyoko noted that her father decided to share the diary that he kept while he endured the inhumane treatment in the Tule Lake Stockade. Over the years, Kyoko worked with her father to transcribe his diary from Japanese to English in the hours after work and after her kids were put to bed. Tatsuo Inouye’s Tule Lake Stockade Diary was eventually published in 2020 and stands as a testament to resilience in the face of hostility.

Rest in Power, Kyoko.

Read reflections from Manzanar Committee members on our website: https://manzanarcommittee.org/2026/05/17/nancy-kyoko-oda/

05/17/2026

Check out this important story from the Los Angeles Times about the Trump effort to cut budget and
stifle the message at Manzanar

https://www.latimes.com/california/newsletter/2026-05-12/2-0-essential-california-template-do-not-use-make-a-copy

05/16/2026

Thanks to all who joined us for the 57th Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage on Saturday April 25th 2026.

For anyone who missed it and for those who want to revisit the day, you can check out the video footage on our YouTube page:

https://youtube.com/

05/16/2026

05/16/2026

Check out the great article about the 57th Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage by Pacific Citizen

https://www.pacificcitizen.org/lessons-from-manzanarvigilance-is-the-price-of-democracy/