Ron Wakabayashi to Receive the Sue Kunitomi Embrey Legacy Award at 55th Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage

 

LOS ANGELES — Ron Wakabayashi, former Regional Director, United States Department of Justice Community Relations Service, has been named as the 2024 recipient of the Sue Kunitomi Embrey Legacy Award.

 

The award, named after the late chair of the Manzanar Committee who was one of the founders of the annual Manzanar Pilgrimage and was the driving force behind the creation of the Manzanar National Historic Site, will be presented at the 55th Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage on Saturday, April 27, 2024, starting at 11:30 AM, at the Manzanar National Historic Site.

 

Wakabayashi, who was one of the pioneers who participated in the first organized Manzanar Pilgrimage in 1969, was born in Reno, Nevada during the war years and had family members incarcerated at Rohwer and Topaz.

 

After his family returned to Los Angeles in 1947, Wakabayashi attended California State University, Los Angeles before becoming the National Youth Director for the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) in the late 1960’s. He was a founder and director of the Asian American Drug Abuse Program (AADAP), and then went on to become the JACL National Director during the redress campaign.

 

Wakabayashi later became the Executive Director of the Los Angeles City Human Relations Commission and the Director of the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations. He served in this position starting in 1999, and provided conflict resolution services related to race, color or national origin until he retired in 2020.

 

“We are honored to recognize Ron for all his outstanding contributions to our community, and for defending the civil rights of all Americans,” said Manzanar Committee Co-Chair Bruce Embrey.

 

The afternoon program begins at 11:30 AM with a performance by UCLA Kyodo Taiko, the first collegiate taiko group in North America, and will conclude with the traditional interfaith service and Ondo dancing. The main portion of the program begins at 12:00 PM.

 

Pilgrimage participants are advised to bring their own lunch, drinks and snacks as there are no facilities to purchase food at the Manzanar National Historic Site (restaurants and fast food outlets are located in Lone Pine and Independence). Water will be provided at the Pilgrimage.

 

Due to circumstances beyond the Committee’s control, the large tent covering the main seating area will not be available. Participants are advised to wear hats, use sunscreen, bring umbrellas and pop-up tents, as well as folding chairs.

 

The 2024 Manzanar At Dusk program, will follow the afternoon Pilgrimage program at 5:00 PM PDT, at Lone Pine High School gymnasium, located in Lone Pine, California, approximately eight miles south of the Manzanar National Historic Site.

 

Now in its 26th year, Manzanar At Dusk is co-sponsored by the Nikkei Student Unions at California Polytechnic University, Pomona, California State University (CSU), Fullerton CSU, Long Beach, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of California, San Diego.

 

Both the Manzanar Pilgrimage and the Manzanar At Dusk program are free and open to the public. For more information, call (323) 662-5102, or send e-mail to info@manzanarcommittee.org.

 

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Photo: Ron Wakabayshi. Courtesy United States Department of Justice Community Relations Service, Western Region.

 

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The Manzanar Committee, sponsor of the annual Manzanar Pilgrimage and Manzanar At Dusk program, the youth education project, Katari: Keeping Japanese American Stories Alive, and the Sue Kunitomi Student Awards Program, 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, check out our web site at https://manzanarcommittee.org, call us at (323) 662-5102, or e-mail us at info@manzanarcommittee.org. You can also follow the Manzanar Committee on Facebook, on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @manzanarcomm, on Instagram at @manzanarcommittee, and on YouTube.

 

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