The Manzanar Baseball Project

Dan Kwong is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

The Manzanar Baseball Project will consist of an exhibition doubleheader of games to be played at Manzanar National Historic Site in the Mojave Desert this Fall. (NOTE: NEW TENTATIVE DATE SEPTEMBER 21st)

BACKGROUND

Manzanar was the first of ten WWII internment camps where Americans of Japanese ancestry were imprisoned without due process of law by the U.S. government. Overall, it was the largest mass incarceration in American history with 120,000 people being imprisoned between 1942 and 1945.

Uncertain if they would ever be free again, Japanese Americans did their best to create a sense of "home" in any way possible, with sports being one of the most important ways.

In the 1940s baseball was truly the National Pastime, by far the most popular sport in the country, and for incarcerated Japanese Americans it was no different. Baseball sprang up in every camp, where dozens of leagues were formed with hundreds of players. People were so hungry for a sense of normalcy, a way to feel proud, and a way to express their Americanness, games might draw a thousand spectators standing and sitting on bare ground in the blazing sun. It has been said that, without baseball, life would have been unbearable.

TODAY

The main baseball field at Manzanar is currently being restored to its wartime configuration. Upon completion this Spring it will be inaugurated with this project, honoring the determination and unbreakable spirit of the Japanese American community and its ballplayers.

The Manzanar Baseball Project will feature players from the Japanese American baseball leagues of California playing in a doubleheader:

Li'l Tokio Giants vs. Lodi JACL Templars - the two longest continuously active teams in California

North vs. South All-Star Game - with players wearing custom-made 1940s-style uniforms and using vintage equipment.

This event will be the first of its kind; an afternoon of time-travel that will bring history to life.

The day will also feature taiko drumming performances by Makoto Taiko, a musical performance created by Nobuko Miyamoto, and a special appearance by The Samurai Centerfielder (performance artist Dan Kwong).

Our goal is to make this an annual tradition, incorporating more culture and performing arts into the day, and developing an expanded educational component.

Manzanar Baseball Project will use baseball to bring attention to an often overlooked chapter of our nation's history, and highlight its lessons in freedom, justice and respect.