Manzanar Committee

LOS ANGELES — Manzanar – Never Again, a short film by critically acclaimed documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, will be screened at the Manzanar At Dusk program, to be held on Saturday, April 25, 2009, at Lone Pine High School gymnasium, starting at 5:00 PM PDT.

Manzanar At Dusk follows the traditional Manzanar Pilgrimage program, which is scheduled for noon PDT at the Manzanar National Historic Site, located approximately nine miles north of Lone Pine on US Highway 395 in California’s Owens Valley, approximately 230 miles north of Los Angeles.

Manzanar – Never Again looks at the interconnected stories of Japanese American internment during World War II, the community’s efforts to commemorate the Manzanar concentration camp, and the ongoing work of Manzanar National Historic Site and the Manzanar Committee to educate visitors about civil rights.

At the heart of the of the film is the Manzanar Committee’s annual Pilgrimage, including the Manzanar At Dusk program, which focused on small-group discussions between internee elders and young people, in which people of all ages and diverse backgrounds, especially youth, hear, often for the first time, about the injustices suffered by those who were imprisoned.

Former Manzanar Committee Chair Sue Kunitomi Embrey and other former internees speak movingly throughout the film about protecting all citizens’ rights, especially in times of national crisis.

Lone Pine High School is located at 538 South Main Street (US Highway 395) in Lone Pine.

Further details about the Pilgrimage and the Manzanar At Dusk program, which are funded in part by the Paul I. and Hisako Terasaki Community Outreach Program Fund, will be announced at a later date.

The Manzanar Committee is dedicated to educating and raising public awareness about the incarceration and violation of civil rights of persons of Japanese ancestry during World War II and to the continuing struggle of all peoples when Constitutional rights are in danger. A non-profit organization that has sponsored the annual Manzanar Pilgrimage since 1969, along with other educational programs, the Manzanar Committee has also played a key role in the establishment and continued development of the Manzanar National Historic Site. For more information, call (323) 662-5102 or check their web site at http://www.manzanarcommittee.org and their blog at http://blog.manzanarcommittee.org. You can also post a comment here on our blog in the “Leave A Reply” box below.

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Photo: Ken Burns. Courtesy Public Broadcasting Corporation.