SR 09-27-2016 13B 13.B
September 27, 2016
Council Meeting: September 27, 2016 Santa Monica, California
1 of 1
CITY CLERK’S OFFICE - MEMORANDUM
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Denise Anderson -Warren, City Clerk , Records & Elections Services
Department
Date : September 27, 2016
13.B Request of Mayor Vazquez, Mayor Pro Tem Winterer, and Councilmember
McKeown that Council authorize $5,000 in Council contingency funds for a
contribution to the creation of the Venice Japanese American Memorial
Monument, to honor the approximately one thousand Americans of
Japanese ancestry forcibly relocated at the start of World War II from their
homes in Santa Monica, Malibu, and Venice to the Manzanar War
Relocation Camp in the Owens Valley, losing their homes, their
businesses, and their liberties
September 1, 2016 via: tony.vazquez@smgov.net
kevin@mckeown.net
gleam.davis@smgov.net
sue.himmelrich@smgov.net
terry.oday@smgov.net
ted.winterer@smgov.net
Councilmembers
City of Santa Monica
1685 Main Street, Room 209
Santa Monica, CA 90401
RE: Request support for Venice Japanese American Memorial Monument (VJAMM)
Dear Councilmembers :
The Venice Japanese American Memorial Monument Committee (VJAMM) is wri ting to request your support in
the amount of $5,000 towards a permanent memorial on the northwest corner of Venice and Lincoln Boulevards in
Venice.
The monument honor s 1,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry from Venice, Santa Monica and Malibu who were
forcibly removed from their homes and businesses, and incarcerated at the War Relocation Authority camp at Manzanar
for the duration of World War II. The location marks th e spot where we lined up with only what we could carry in April,
1942. The VJAMM will be a 9′A6″AtallAsolidAblackAgraniteA obelisk, featuring a historic 1942 photo (see above) with
engraved text. The text gives a brief history of this event, the historic context of Executive Order 9066, and a reminder to
be vigilant about protecting Constitutional rights, a map from Venice, Santa Monica, and Malibu to the Manzanar
Interpretive C enter on Highway 395 north of Lone Pine, California. The sides will feature quotes from former Manzanar
internees such as myself, Arnold Tadao Maeda, from Santa Monica; my brother Brian Tadashi Maeda, born in Manzanar;
Mae Kageyama Kakehashi, from Venic e; and Amy Takahashi Ioki, from Malibu. Major donors will also be engraved on
the monument. (See attached text).
I was born in Santa Monica on July 17, 1926 and attended McKinley Elementary School, Lincoln Junior High
School and Santa Monica High School. I graduated from Manzanar High School in 1944 and received my diploma from
Santa Monica High School in 2001.
The VJAMM Committee has raised over $100,000 towards the $150,000 needed to fund the entire project which
includes committee expenses, the engine ering, design, manufacturing, engraving, transportation, foundation, and
installation of the monument, as well as the website, and Educational Outreach and Maintenance Programs. We have
secured a major grant from the National Parks Service .
We hope you will join the following major donors and have your name inscribed on the monument which
includes: the Japanese Confinement Site Grant Program, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior; Esther
Chaing, Hama Sushi Restaurant in Venic e; Mike Bonin, Los Angeles City Councilmember, 11th District; Don Knabe,
County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors, 4th District; Sheila Kuehl, County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors 3 rd
District; Ted Lieu, California State Senator, 28th District; Mar k Ridley -Thomas, County of Los Angeles Board of
Supervisors, 2nd District; Bill Rosendahl, Los Angeles City Councilmember, and 11th District; Zev Yaroslavsky, County of
Los Angeles Board of Supervisors, 3rd District.
The inspiration for this project goes back to the attacks of September 11, 2001, against the World Trade Center
in New York, the Pentagon in Virginia, and the plane crash into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Hate crimes
against persons perceived to be Middle Easterners or Muslims flar ed, amid calls for their removal and imprisonment. In
April, 2009, the Free Venice Beachhead published a commemorative article on the Japanese American internment and
printed a 1942 photo of Japanese Americans lined up on Venice Boulevard just west of Lincoln Boulevard, for transport
to Manzanar. Students in their U. S. History classes in the New Media Academy at Venice High School heeded the
Beachhead’sAurgentApleaAtoAurgeA11thADistrictALosA ngelesACityACouncilmemberABillARosendahlAtoAsupportAtheAinsta llation
of a permanent marker at the northwest corner of Venice and Lincoln Boulevards. Students, churches, community
organizations, and other elected officials joined Rosendahl in support for an enduring reminder of what had happened
at this intersection in 1942, so that such an injustice would never happen again.
OnAMarchA24,A2010,AtheAVeniceAJapaneseA mericanAMemorialAMonumentA“VJ MM”ACommitteeAwasAformedAasA
an ad hoc group comprised of former internees, activists, artists and concerned citizens from th e Manzanar Committee,
Venice Arts Council, Free Venice Beachhead, Venice Peace and Freedom Party, Venice High School Alumni, Venice
Community Housing, Venice -Culver J apanese American Citizens League, the Venice Historical Society and Councilman
Bonin’sAsta ff member .AATheAVeniceACommunityAHousingAservesAasAtheAorganization’sAfiscalAsponsor.
TheAVJ MMACommittee’sAhopeAisAthat this monument remind s people that what happened to persons of
Japanese ancestry in 1942 should never happen again to any minority grou p solely based on ethnicity, gender, sexual
orientation, race or religion.
Thank you for considering our request. We hope to have your support in helping us reach our goal. May we
please hear back from you soon to meet our deadline to acknowledge major do nors engraved on the monument.
Sincerely,
Arnold Maeda
VJAMM Founding Committee M ember
310 -398 -5157
www.venicejamm.org
cc: Phyllis Hayashibara, VJAMM (310) 717 -3393 phyllishayashibara@gmail.com
Suzanne Thompson, VJAMM (310) 570 -5419 suzannethompson55@gmail.com
ENCL: text on monument
[revised Tuesday, June 21, 2016]
[revised Tuesday, June 21, 2016]
IN APRIL 1942, DURING WORLD WAR II, MORE THAN A THOUSAND
AMERICAN MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN OF JAPANESE ANCESTRY IN
VENICE, SANTA MONICA, AND MALIBU REPORTED TO THIS CORNER
AT VENICE AND LINCOLN BOULEVARDS . THEY WERE ALLOWED TO
BRING WITH THEM ONLY WHAT THEY COULD CARRY. THE WESTERN
DEFENSE COMMAND AND FOURTH ARMY ISSUED CIVILIAN
EXCLUSION ORDER NO. 7 WHICH GAVE FAMILIES ONLY DAYS TO
DISPOSE OF THEIR PROPERTY AND POSSESSION S. BUSES
TRANSPORTED THE M DIRECTLY TO THE AMERICAN
CONCENTRATION CAMP AT MANZANAR IN INYO COUNTY WHERE
MANY INTERNEES WERE INCARCERATED FOR MORE THAN THREE
YEARS.
ON DECEMBER 7, 1941 , JAPAN’S ATTACK ON THE U.S. NAVAL BASE
AT PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII PLUNGED THE UNITED STATES INTO
WORLD WAR II. WITHIN DAYS, THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE PUT
JAPANESE AMERICAN COMMUNITY LEADERS INTO DETENTION
CENTERS FOR THE UNSUBSTANTIATED FEAR OF COLLUSION WITH
THE ENEMY NATION OF JAP AN. O N F EBRUARY 19, 1942, PRESIDENT
FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT SIGNED EXECUTIVE ORD ER 9066,
WHICH EMPOWERED THE U.S. ARMY TO DECLARE AREAS OF
WASHINGTON, OREGON, AND CALIFORNIA MILITARILY SENSITIVE.
EO 9066 FORCED THE REMOVAL OF 120,000 JAPANESE AND AMERI CAN
CITIZENS OF JAPANE SE ANCESTRY FROM THE WEST COAST TO BE
IMPRISONED IN TEMPORARY ASSEMBLY CENTERS AT FAIRGROUNDS
AND RACE TRACKS . MONTHS LATER, THEY WERE TAKEN TO TEN
AMERICAN CONCENTRATION CAMPS UNDER THE WAR RELOCATION
AUTHORITY. TH IS FORCED REMOVAL AND IMPRISONMENT ,
WITHOUT ANY REGARD TO DUE PROCESS OR THE WRIT OF HABEAS
CORPUS , VIO LATED THEIR RIGHTS UNDER THE U.S. CONSTITUTION.
MAY THIS VENICE JAPANESE AMERICAN MEMORIAL M ONUMENT
REMIND US TO BE FOREVER VIGILANT ABOUT DEFENDING OUR
CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS. THE POWERS OF GOVERNMENT MUST
NEVER AGAIN PERPETRATE AN INJUSTICE AGAINST ANY GROUP
BASED SOLELY ON ETHNICITY, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION,
RACE, OR RELIGION.
[revised Tuesday, June 21, 2016]
VENICE
JAPANESE
AMERICAN
MEMORIAL
M ONUMENT
[revised Tuesday, June 21, 2016]
This is the very corner my family
reported to, before being sent to
Manzanar concentration camp with only
what they could carry. They, like many
other families, lost everything: their
homes, their businesses, their liberties.
Brian Tadashi Maeda
born in Manzanar
Instead of being worried about where
we were going, I was obsessed with the
fact that I had parted with my constant
companion, my pet dog, Boy. For a fifteen -
year -old, that unforgettably traumatic.
Arnold Tadao Maeda
from Santa Monica
When the camp closed, they gave us
twenty -five dollars and told us to go.
But we had nothing when we left camp –
no home, no money, no jobs. It was
very hard on all of us.
Mae Kageyama Kakehashi
from Venice
As a sixteen -year -old I didn’t realize it
fully, but in time we learned how our
rights as citizens were ignored. Thanks
to the strength and resilience of our Issei
parents, we were able to survive.
Amy Takahashi Ioki
from Malibu
[revised Tuesday, June 21, 2016]
THE VENICE JAPANESE AMERICAN
MEMORIAL MONUMENT COMMITTEE
GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES
THESE MAJOR DONORS
JAPANESE AMERICAN CONFINEMENT SITES
GRANT PROGRAM
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
ESTHER CHAING,
HAMA SUSHI RESTAURANT
VENICE, CALIFORNIA
BILL ROSENDAHL, 11TH DISTRICT
LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL
MIKE BONIN, 11TH DISTRICT
LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL
ZEV YAROSLAVSKY, 3RD DISTRICT
LOS ANGELES COUNTY
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
SHEILA KUEHL, 3 RD DISTRICT
LOS ANGELES COUNTY
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
MARK RIDLEY -THOMAS, 2ND DISTRICT
LOS ANGELES COUNTY
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
DON KNABE, 4TH DIST RICT
LOS ANGELES COUNTY
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
TED LIEU, 28TH DISTRICT
CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE
[revised Tuesday, June 21, 2016]
ROUTE TO
MANZANAR NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MANZANAR
WAR RELOCATION AUTHORITY CAMP
INCARCERATED MORE THAN 10,000
PERSONS OF JAPANESE ANCESTRY
FIRST OF TEN WAR RELOCATION
AUTHORITY CAMPS COMPLETED
DEDICATED APRIL 25, 201 7
Notes to Fast Signs:
Enlarge font size of
Malibu and Santa
Monica to be smaller
than Venice but
larger than Palmdale
and other cities.
Renumber 405 as 5 .
Label the route
below 5 as 405.
Use the three
characters on the
obelisk as redrawn
by Fast Signs.