Manzanar Committee

American Muslims gather at WWII Japanese internment camp The annual pilgrimage, now in its 57th year, brings together different communities to remember the 120,000 Japanese Americans who were forced from their homes.

Dale Minami delivered the keynote at this past weekend's , covered on the front page of The Inyo Register.

Min­ami said he first came to Man­zanar in 1972, and con­siders it to be “both a sac­red and hor­rific site.”

“This coun­try has got­ten worse since 2019, and my hope is that we can do bet­ter,” he said. “We can­not allow that big, polit­ical eraser to wipe us off the white­board of his­tory.”

He said the lie that Japan­ese Amer­ic­ans posed a “national secur­ity threat” dur­ing World War II was used to make them “con­sti­tu­tional orphans who were sen­tenced to indef­in­ite con­fine­ment without a trial,” and he sees the same thing hap­pen­ing to groups such as immig­rants today.

He cau­tioned that just like all three branches of gov­ern­ment had to agree to allow for the incar­cer­a­tion of Japan­ese Amer­ic­ans then, the same thing is hap­pen­ing today that allows the cur­rent pres­id­ent and his admin­is­tra­tion to go for­ward with “the rejec­tion of the rule of law.”

“Demo­cracy is fall­ing and if we don’t do something about it we will face a cata­strophe,” he said.

https://www.pressreader.com/usa/inyo-register/20260428/281496462884582

Every year we publish a printed program for the annual Manzanar Pilgrimage, which includes articles connecting our history and current events, information about our speakers and performers, and updates about what’s going on at the Manzanar National Historic Site.

Check out the printable program for the 57th Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage:

https://manzanarcommittee.org/2026/04/28/57th-annual-pilgrimage-printed-program/

With deep gratitude and thanks to the over 1,800 attendees who came to the 57th Annual Manzanar Saturday, April 25th, 2026.

This event would not have been possible without the hard work of our volunteers and generous donations of our supporters.

Please consider contributing today to support our efforts to honor our legacy and remember that vigilance is the price of democracy.

https://www.paypal.com/US/fundraiser/charity/2262044

Join us in person or tune into our Facebook live stream on Saturday, April 25th 2026 for the 57th annual manzanar pilgrimage.

Program Schedule:

11:30am - Call to Order with Music by UCLA Kyodo Taiko and Ken Koshio

11:55am - Banner Procession

12pm Speakers including
-Welcome from Emcees Maiya Kuida Osumi and Tony Osumi
-Welcome from Jeremiah Joseph, Cultural Resources Protection for the Paiute-Shoshone Tribe
-Jeremy Scheier, Superintendent MNHS
-Opening Remarks by Bruce Embrey, Manzanar Committee Chair
-Keynote Address by Dale Minami
-Musical Interlude by UCLA Kyodo Taiko
-Hussam Ayloush, Council on American-Islamic Relations-CA Director
-Paul Hiroshi Boyea, Chair of the Terminal Islanders Preservation Initiative
-Jennifer Yamash*ta, UCLA Student Speaker
-Closing Camp Roll Call by Monica Mariko Embrey

1:15pm - Banner Procession to the Cemetery and Interfaith Service

1:45pm - Ondo dancing

2pm - 5pm - We encourage attendees to visit the Interpretive Center and other areas at the National Historic Site

5pm - intergenerational conversations at Manzanar at Dusk to be held at Lone Pine High School

Attendees are welcome to participate in all components of this program.

Please note we expect the weather to be cool and misty on Saturday, so please bring layers. No food is available on site, so please pack your lunch and snacks.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Can't join us in person at Manzanar on Saturday, April 25th? Not a problem - join us virtually at our live stream off our page!

Register here to receive the notification when we go live:
https://facebook.com/events/s/57th-annual-manzanar-pilgrimag/2070097996867404/