Across the United States are many sites of national achievements that make us proud to be Americans. However, there are also many places to remind us of the times in history when, according to our national benchmark of equality and freedom for all, we fell short.
Surprisingly, many sites of former injustice are preserved by the National Park Service (NPS). Groups seeking to promote both closure and remembrance use sites such as the Manzanar War Relocation Center, where Americans of Japanese descent were held during World War II. "Many in our community lost their worldly possessions when they were sent to [Manzanar] camp," says Bruce Embrey, co-chair of the Manzanar Committee, "not to mention being subjected to the racist humiliation and complete revocation of their constitutional rights."
In the time immediately following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the U.S. government ordered more than 110,000 Japanese Americans and residents to leave their homes and be interred in 10 remote, military-style camps until the end of World War II. Embrey's mother was among them. Each year, since 1969, his organization has hosted a pilgrimage to the Manzanar center, a former camp that is now part of the NPS. "Our committee has more than a dozen members who were incarcerated in different camps. The 39th annual pilgrimage, which was held in April 2008, had more than 1,600 people participate. Next yearthe 40thwe hope will bring even more. Many of the first 'pilgrims' from 1969 will be there, and we hope to honor them," Embrey said.
In Little Rock, AR, September 2007 marked the 50th anniversary of the Little Rock Nine Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed Wair, Melba Pattillo Beals, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Gloria Cecelia Ray, Jefferson Thomas, and Terrence Robertsthe first African American students to attend then all-white Little Rock Central High School. The torrent of racially motivated abuses that followed touched off an international scandal.
The anniversary was marked by a week of events that included the debut of a play (What Happened in Little Rock), the dedication of a new visitors center across from Little Rock Central High School (which, though part of the NPS, is still a working high school), a gala dinner at the host Peabody Hotel, and a commemoration on the front lawn of Little Rock Centralboth featuring all of the Little Rock Nine and former President Clinton as keynote speaker. It also coincided with two national headlinesthe racial controversy surrounding the Jena Six and the nascent presidential campaign of Barack Obamaboth of which elicited disgruntled comments from the Nine during an international press conference. "That [Jena Six] has happened does not mean the actions of the Nine were in vain," said Melba Pattillo Beals, while Minnijean Brown remarked, "Fifty years later, I hope we are not talking about if a black man can run for president!"
This year, in addition to commemorating another Little Rock Nine anniversary, Little Rock will be the site of the Trail of Tears Association's (TOTA) 13th Annual Conference & Symposium. The Trail of Tears refers to the forced migration of the Cherokee people from their homelands in the southeastern U.S. to present-day Oklahoma in 1838 and 1839; TOTA, which was formed to support the creation, development, and interpretation of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, has nine chapters, in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Every year, a state chapter hosts a conference, which provides an opportunity to learn about new discoveries and current research along the Trail as well as to experience cultural activities, through lectures and tours.
While events like these bring historical awareness of the sites, the role of the NPS is to conserve and maintain visitors centers, such as the new center at Little Rock Central and the restored auditorium at Manzanar, which, according to Embrey, has been converted into "a fantastic interpretive center. Participants usually go to the center, which has films, a bookstore, and a ton of exhibits." These visitors centers are frequently used as meeting and reception venues.
And it seems there are still lessons to be learned. "At the 39th pilgrimage," says Embrey, "some 100 Muslims came from the Council on American Islamic Relations, and one of their members spoke as part of the program. Since 9/11," he explains, "our committee has been concerned about the racial profiling that the Muslim and broader Arab community has experienced. As descendants of those that were incarcerated, we are particularly sensitive about civil rights and civil liberties. We feel we have a responsibility to raise our history as an example of what should never happen again in our country, to anyone or any group."
Originally published Sept. 1, 2008
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