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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.