EXHIBIT: Reclaiming Manzanar: Illegal Detention, Incarceration, and Contested Returns

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Manzanar Pilgrimage, this exhibit documents the historical events surrounding WWII Japanese American incarceration, focusing on Southern California.  The exhibit also highlights the lasting impact that incarceration had on future Asian American activism and cultural production.  The concept of returning unites the different geographic and temporal elements:  returning to incarceration camps as part of the contemporary Pilgrimage; returning to civic life after release from incarceration camps; returning to forgotten moments in history as a way to empower communities and raise political consciousness during the 1960s Asian American Movement – returning to reclaim these moments and to (re)write the carceral geography at Manzanar.