GARDENA — To commemorate the 71st Day of Remembrance, The Bridge: JCI Heritage Center will sponsor a program featuring “The Manzanar Fishing Club” on Sunday, Feb. 24, from 1 to 3 p.m. in the JCI Hall, 1964 W. 162nd St. in Gardena.
Incorporating excerpts from the documentary, director/producer Cory Shiozaki will discuss the film and its connections to the experiences of people in the local community and the history and issues surrounding the Day of Remembrance itself. There will also be a discussion panel of former Manzanar fishermen.
“The Manzanar Fishing Club” is a critically acclaimed, feature-length film. Last year, it was screened to packed houses at Laemmle, Landmark, and Regency theaters throughout California. It tells the story of a group of men — and a few women — who would sneak out of the camp to fish in the lakes and streams of the Eastern Sierras. In this way, these courageous people defied armed guards and the elements to practice their constitutional rights to freedom of movement and freedom of expression. In short, it is also the story of how indomitable the human spirit is in the face of injustice and adversity.
DVDs will be on sale and Shiozaki will be available to sign them.
For further information, contact the JCI office at (310) 324-6611 or info@jci-gardena.org, or contact the Bridge Heritage Center at jcibridge@jci-gardena.org or www.facebook.com/JCIBridge.
Visit the film’s website at www.fearnotrout.com or www.facebook.com/TheManzanarFishingClub.
Day of Remembrance 2013; In recognizing February 19, 1942, we could not as a young man, see the enormity of the impact of E O 9066 and the sacrifices of the Issei and Nisei.
We look at the events that took place of Febrary 19, 1942, with deep emotions and unwavering commitment to those who lost their freedoms in the struggle for equality and causes for which they stood.
We look back at these young men who volunteered for the services from the concentration camps, young men in their 20’s, their lives violently taken in act of bravely.
What could these young men of such potential, ideals, and promise have accomplished had they been able to live out their lives?
We also look at E O 9066 with sickening sense of loss of freedom and anger of imprisonment without due process of the law. We have come far as a society in the past 71 years,but racism, bigotry and intolerance of those different from us still survive.
As long as racism and bigotry are still part of our vocabulary, our work is not done; and we will continue to fight for the democracy of America our Issei and Nisei forefathers envisioned.