SACRAMENTO — The Northern California Time of Remembrance Committee (Florin, Lodi, Placer County, and Sacramento JACL chapters) and its educational partners, The California Museum, Elk Grove Unified School District, and the CSU Sacramento Library’s Special Collections, are launching three inspiring events.
The NCTOR planned these activities in remembrance of the signing of Executive Order 9066, which suspended due process and resulted in the unjust incarceration of 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry into America’s concentration centers during World War II.
• “Gambatte! Legacy of an Enduring Spirit,” featuring Sacramento Bee photojournalist Paul Kitagaki Jr. and presented by the Japanese American Citizens League’s Northern California Time of Remembrance Committee, on Saturday, Feb. 14, from 1 to 3 p.m., followed by reception from 3 to 5 p.m., at The California Museum, 1020 O St., Sacramento.
This special event features a multimedia presentation by Kitagaki, who has been searching since 2005 for the identities of Japanese Americans whose images of forced relocation in 1942 were captured by acclaimed documentary photographer Dorothea Lange and others with the War Relocation Authority. His work has captured contemporary images of these Japanese Americans, documenting their legacy of perseverance over their incarceration.
Tickets are $20 per adult and $15 for students, and free for students 17 and under, including complimentary refreshments, museum admission and free parking for museum visitors in a surface street lot at the corner of 10th and O streets. Proceeds will benefit all Time of Remembrance activities, including the discovery program, providing students with tours of the museum’s exhibit “Uprooted! Japanese Americans During WWII,” led by a formerly incarcerated docent and volunteers.
Tickets for the Kitagaki program will be limited to 225. For more information, contact Nancy Whiteside at (916) 508-6587 or Christine Umeda at (916) 427-2841, or visit www.nctor.org.
• Discovery Program: The Japanese American Experience through March 20 at The California Museum.
A multimedia educational program where students learn about the Japanese American experience during World War II from those who lived it. Aligning with state content standards on social science and language arts for 3rd through 8th grades, this learning program provides students the opportunity to experience life in an incarceration center through the first-hand experiences of docents and volunteers. This powerful program includes a replica of a guard tower and a walk through a re-creation of a barrack. For eight weeks, students from throughout Northern California explore concepts such as citizenship, constitutionality, and redress.
For information or to schedule group tours, go to the education link at http://californiamuseum.org or email reservations@californiamuseum.org.
• “Gambatte! Legacy of an Enduring Spirit” through May 3 at The California Museum. Paul Kitagaki set out to create a collection of contemporary portraits mirroring the works of War Relocation Authority staff photographers, including Dorothea Lange. The 1942 photographs document the moment the lives of Japanese Americans changed forever, and Kitagaki’s images record their enduring spirit.
Museum hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. First Sunday of the month (Feb. 8, March 8, April 5, May 3), 12 to 5 p.m. Open Presidents’ Day. Closed Mondays. Hours are subject to change. Call (916) 653-0650 to confirm days and times.
Admission: $9 for adults (18+), 47.50 for students and seniors (65+) with ID, $6.50 for youth (6-17), free for children 5 and under (limited to two per paid adult; not valid for group tour admission) and museum members. Groups of 10 or more who book a tour a minimum of seven days in advance are eligible for discounted admission.
For more information, call (916) 653-7524 or visit the website.