Project under way to create memorial at camp site.
By KATHEE YAMAMOTO
RAFU CONTRIBUTOR
On Aug. 3, anyone with a family connection to the Tulare Assembly Center is invited to a reunion being held at the Tulare County Fairgrounds, with a reception at 12 p.m. and program from 1 to 3 p.m.
The reunion is part of a years-long and unlikely journey towards creating a memorial at a location that remains the only detention camp in California that has nothing to signify its use to incarcerate 4,978 Japanese Americans during World War II.
In 2013, as teacher Michaelpaul Mendoza started the first “Cultural History” class at Mission Oak High School in Tulare, his students were stunned to learn that the Tulare County Fairgrounds, home of the annual county fairs, had such a dark and largely hidden history.
They were galvanized to start efforts towards a memorial, raising awareness about Japanese American incarceration at Tulare, with outreach that included guest speakers sharing their incarceration experiences.
As a child, Nancy Hanada Bellin went through Tulare with her family before being sent to the Poston camp in Arizona. “I started speaking to classrooms years ago because at that time, there was so little written about the Japanese internment,” she said. “Students needed to understand what happened from both the illegal, historical point of view as well as the resulting undeserved years of shame, sadness and losses it caused so many American citizens.
“This school project of creating a monument to the Tulare Assembly Center at our fairgrounds has brought community focus and reawakens the thought of ‘never again.’”
The mission to bring that history to light developed into plans to construct a monument at the main entrance of the fairgrounds, including a bronze statue, Japanese garden-inspired landscaping, informational storyboards, and large bronze plates with the names of all those incarcerated.
At the Aug. 3 reunion, Mendoza invites surviving Tulare incarcerees and their family members “to meet our students and the memorial planning committee to learn their stories and receive their valuable input about the memorial.”
Incarcerees and their families can RSVP by completing this Google form: https://forms.gle/FQoKx3YyWbYZRfCfA
According to Dr. Koji Lau-Ozawa, a researcher of Japanese American archaeology and history whose own family was sent to Tulare, it was “the fourth-largest temporary detention camp in California. Tulare had a peak population of 4,978 people, though a total of 5,061 Japanese Americans were forcibly detained there during its operation from April to September of 1942.
“Most came from areas along the California coast, including Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties as well as Torrance, Gardena, Los Angeles, and Pasadena in L.A. County. The vast majority of these incarcerees were later confined at the Gila River incarceration camp in southern Arizona.”
Since that first class, Mendoza has educated over a thousand students about the incarceration of Japanese Americans. He notes, “Unlike many of the other locations, the Tulare County Fairgrounds does not have a monument or a single plaque to recognize this important history. My ‘Cultural History’ (similar to ethnic studies) class has taken it upon themselves to not just learn history, but to make it.”
His students have given presentations to the entire student body using slideshows and T-shirts they specifically made for the occasion, featuring an aerial view of the assembly center, a logo honoring the 442nd Regimental Combat team and the words “Never forget” in Japanese.
“Mission Oak may possibly be the only high school in America where 100% of our students have now learned and are aware of this forgotten history,” says Mendoza. “We do not have a single Japanese American student in the class. The powerful lesson here is that the students have come to learn that you personally do not have to be directly impacted to feel empathy and to appreciate important American stories.”
His students continue to pursue the memorial project with each succeeding class. Progress has been made in the past few years with the unanimous approval and support of the monument proposal by the Tulare County Fair Board, after a presentation by Mendoza’s students; creation of design plans for the monument; and fundraising efforts that include securing grants and local support.
The centerpiece for the planned memorial is a 5-by-8-foot bronze wall, which is scheduled for completion this year.
The estimated cost is in excess of $350,000. In fundraising efforts by Mendoza and his students, approximately $150,00 has been collected so far.
An official unveiling and dedication is scheduled for 2025 at the fairgrounds, the culmination of efforts led by the students in partnership with the Tulare County Fair Heritage Foundation.
At that time, there will be a launch of an ongoing educational program with local schools and the Tulare Historical Museum to ensure the monument serves its purpose of educating the community and visitors.
Plans beyond 2025 include “continuous collaboration with community partners, schools, and the fair to host educational events and activities centered around the monument and its significance,” according to Mendoza.
The proposal for the monument emphasizes the significance of its location: “With the fairgrounds’ extensive visitor count, exceeding 240,000 annually, the impact of this monument transcends local boundaries, offering educational benefits to a wide and diverse audience. It promises to be a beacon of learning, reflection, and commemoration, pivotal in promoting cultural awareness and historical relevance on a scale much larger than Tulare alone.”
In considering the journey that started in 2013, Mendoza says, “This project has provided a unique opportunity for students to engage with important and forgotten history. It is inspiring to see how these students, none of which are Japanese American, understand the importance of honoring those who were wrongfully incarcerated. To see them now meet some of the survivors who they are learning about and wanting to recognize is the greatest gift any teacher can ask for.
“Together, we are striving to hold America to its promise of liberty and justice for all so that something like this may never happen again.”
For more information, contact Michaelpaul Mendoza at (559) 972-9148.
If you or your loved ones were incarcerated at Tulare prior to being transferred to Gila River, email Dr. Koji Lau Ozawa at [email protected].
All donations to support the construction of the memorial are tax-deductible and can be made to Tulare County Fair Heritage Foundation Inc., P.O. Box 1097, Tulare, CA 93275.