Pictured are some of the winners of the Third Annual Manzanar Committee Student Awards Program.
LOS ANGELES — The Manzanar Committee, sponsors of the annual Manzanar Pilgrimage and Manzanar at Dusk program, along with the youth education project Katari: Keeping Japanese American Stories Alive, announced their Fifth Annual Student Awards Program on Feb. 3.
The awards program will recognize students who demonstrate an understanding of his/her guiding principles of social justice in today’s society and is open to K-12 students who may submit essays, short stories, poetry, works of art (including drawings, collages and posters) or works involving technology (including animation, podcasts, movies or videos).
Winning entries will be eligible for prizes up to $100 and may be presented at the 51st Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage on April 25 and on the Manzanar Committee’s website. [Editor’s note: Subsequent to the publication of this article, the date for Manzanar Pilgrimage has been indefinitely postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.]
“The Manzanar Committee Student Awards Program provides students with an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of the guiding principles of social justice of the past and how they relate to our society today,” said Manzanar Committee Co-Chair Jenny Chomori. “With 2020 being the 51st anniversary of community-organized camp pilgrimages, we need to take a look at the past and see what we have learned.
“It’s hard to believe that in 2020, we are fighting against the building of concentration camps (detention centers) for immigrant children here in California, and the exclusion of refugees,” Chomori continued. “We need to make sure the next generation is educated on social justice issues and that they are able to fight for democratic rights for all peoples.
“Our Student Awards Program is a vehicle for students to demonstrate their understanding of human and civil rights and show how they will be able to help educate others on the current issues facing us today,” Chomori concluded.
Categories for submissions include short prose genres, art and technology. The deadline for entries is March 20. Winners will be contacted shortly after this date so they may make plans, if they so choose, to attend the 51st Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage.
The program brochure, application forms and further information can be downloaded at https://manzanarcommittee.org/program-details-application.
For more information, email studentawardsprg@manzanarcommittee.org or call (323) 662-5102.
