Injustice

 

As you enter the Alabama Hills there is one rock where graffiti isn’t discouraged. In fact if you google, “Nightmare Rock”, you’ll find it listed as a historical landmark. The history of the rock isn’t clear but perhaps it’s meant to be a reminder that this beautiful area also has a dark side.

A few miles from the rock sits Manzanar War Relocation Center. It came into existence, in the spring of 1942, after the attack on Pearl Harbor. War hysteria, race prejudice and a failure of political leadership resulted in 110,000 men, women and children, of Japanese ancestry, being forced from their homes and relocated to remote, military style camps across the United States.

Manzanar War Relocation Center was one of ten camps where 10,000 people were detained. The majority of them were American citizens. Those 10,000 lives tell 10,000 stories. By preserving and reconstructing portions of the camp, the National Parks Service has made the effort to show what the experience at Manzanar was like and the challenges of daily life there.

In the 1980’s, the US government issued over 82,000 apology letters and redress payments to Japanese Americans impacted by this injustice in order of age, oldest to youngest. The letter stated, “We can never fully right the wrongs of the past. But we can take a clear stand for justice and recognize that serious injustices were done to Japanese Americans during World War II.”

Thank goodness places like Manzanar have been preserved and help us “remember, lest we forget”.