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Contact: Diane Tanaka
310-222-5709 office
GO FOR BROKE EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION'S
AN AMERICAN STORY TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAM HOSTS WORKSHOP WITH
JEANNE WAKATSUKI HOUSTON
Author of "Farewell to Manzanar"
Discusses Personal Experiences of Being a Japanese American During
World War II
Torrance, Calif. (February 22, 2003) - Jeanne
Wakatsuki Houston, author of "Farewell to Manzanar"
will appear as the featured guest speaker for a teacher training
workshop sponsored by the Go For Broke Educational Foundation
on March 22 from 8:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. at the Japanese American
National Museum. The workshop, offered free of charge to educators,
will provide teachers in the state of California with information
enabling them to include the experiences of Japanese Americans,
with an emphasis on the veteran legacy, during World War II into
their classroom instruction. Those educators in attendance will
receive a free autographed copy of the book "Farewell to
Manzanar" in addition to classroom resource materials.
The workshop invites educators to engage in this rare opportunity
to meet Wakatsuki Houston and learn more about the impact "Farewell
to Manzanar" has had as a key resource for educational instruction.
Recently, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante announced the release of 10,000
"Farewell to Manzanar" video kits to schools and libraries
throughout the state of California. In hopes of promoting racial
tolerance, the kits aim to educate students and the public of
the unjust incarceration of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans
based purely on racial prejudice. As a story that depicts the
personal hardships and the political injustices faced during wartime
hysteria, Wakatsuki Houston's voice in "Farewell to Manzanar"
transcends all boundaries of race, color and ethnicity.
Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston was only seven years old when she and
her family were forcibly uprooted from their home and sent to
live at the Manzanar concentration camp. Twenty five years after
her family's release, Wakatsuki Houston and husband James Houston,
co-authored "Farewell to Manzanar." Written as an autobiography,
"Farewell to Manzanar"; won the attention of critics
nationwide, bringing the story of the Japanese Americans experience
during World War II into the public eye.
Four years later, the acclaimed story prompted a groundbreaking
made-for-television film "Farewell to Manzanar," a touching
depiction of Wakatsuki Houston's experiences. Today, Wakatsuki
Houston's heartfelt account of her family's endurance continues
to educate teachers, students and mainstream audiences to the
injustices Japanese Americans survived during and after World
War II.
The Japanese American National Museum is located at 369 East
First Street in Los Angeles. To reserve a seat, please contact
Helen Ota at (310) 222-5711.
The Go For Broke Educational Foundation institutes educational
programs focused on the heroism and history of the Japanese American
soldiers of World War II, as well as the forced evacuation and
incarceration of Japanese American internment and civil liberties
issues raised by those events. Currently the Foundation's programs
include An American Story teacher training workshops and curriculum
development, Hanashi: Voice of the Nisei Soldier oral history
program, and select media projects. For more information, go to
www.goforbroke.org.
In 1989 Japanese American World War II veterans established the
100th/442nd/MIS WWII Memorial Foundation to build the Go For Broke
Monument as an eternal tribute to the heroics of the segregated
Japanese American units: 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental
Combat Team, MIS (Military Intelligence Service) and the many
other men and women who served overseas during World War II. The
monument is located in downtown Los Angeles at Temple and Alameda
streets.
