<Begin Segment 26>

RM: Well, I guess Kristen brought up a question which is we see you at pilgrimage every year, how did you become involved in the Manzanar Committee, not just going to the pilgrimages?

PS: I had to take my mother to the meetings. Whether my mother participated in these meetings, I had to go and take her, and I figured if I was going to spend time there, then I might as well put my input in it and tell them what I thought. And so I automatically became a Manzanar Committee member.

RM: Do you remember when that was, that you became part of the committee?

PS: As soon as I started taking my mom to the pilgrimages. Because I would have to go to some of the meetings so that I would know what was happening, what I needed to help out with that my mother, because my mother would tell me I had to make food for the potluck. So I had to be prepared for all of this. And my time would be there, that's when it started.

RM: What have you thought about your work you've been doing with the Manzanar Committee and the work that the committee does as a whole?

PS: Well, I think it's pretty good. And this last one I really did enjoy. I think the speeches were good, I think... and I think I liked the one before, too. They've gotten a little bit better every time now. I think sometimes they're way too long. I keep on telling them we need to shorten it a little. They need to get those speeches down shorter. Some of those people go up there and talk forever. We were lucky this year because it was cold, but on those hot days, you can't expect those people to sit out there in the sun. It's miserable in the sun. Because my mother used to hate it, she hated the sun.

RM: She probably got enough of it when she was confined there.

PS: I used to always have a little shade over her, or cold water. But being older out there, it's hard on you. And now it's better because they have that big tent now for the older people to sit in. I think that's made a big difference.

RM: What do you think about all of the new generations of people, different groups like Muslim Americans have started coming to the pilgrimage, what do you think about how it's been drawing in new generations?

PS: Well, I liked the part that the Muslims are being included. I have friends that are, that say things like, "They're all terrorists," and I always have to defend them to my friends and tell them, "They're not all terrorists. Some of them are, but not all of them. They're like you and me, they were born here, raised here," and I think it teaches people that you can be, have a different religion and look different and still be the same as everyone else because we all basically have the same needs. You know, you're looking for a little love, a little companionship, we all eat, we all have families, and we care about them. So it bothers me when people say that Muslims are terrorists. Or any group. I mean, they say it about the Pakistanis, I think, too, but I know they're not all that way, because I know from experience. And so I like to be able to say that to people.

RM: Why do you think that... it's always so impressive to me how many people who are now very elderly make that trip to the pilgrimage every single year, year after year, and they sit out in the hot sun. Why do you think it's so important to them to return every year?

PS: Because they think they want other people to know. And I think they're hoping... or I think they feel a connection, like when they hear those speeches or they hear people, how it felt. That they're saying inside, they're like my mother, saying, "Yes, that's how it was, I'm glad you're saying it. It's something I can't do, but you're doing it for me," is what I think.

RM: So I'm going to ask, I guess, a final question, but I think Kristen has one more before I do that. Go ahead, Kristen.

KL: So if someone is watching this who's totally new to this topic, what is the Manzanar Committee, who's on it, what is its objectives? What is it?

PS: It's mainly to let people know about our civil rights, and how it can be easily taken away if you aren't diligent about fighting, even if it is your government, to fight for your rights. I think that's what the Manzanar Committee is about, is fighting for your rights, your given rights here in this country.

RM: And hopefully that segues well into this next question, which is that, as you know, we both work at Manzanar National Historic Site, we're doing this interview so that people for hopefully many generations can learn your mom's story, your own story. And you spent a lot of time up at Manzanar as a National Historic Site. What kind of things do you hope people will learn from that site, and what would you like to see the Park Service do to make sure that happens?

PS: I don't know. I really like the exhibits. I like that you have there about "No Japs Here," or whatever, some of those sights, because I think people need to see those things to know that that really happens. It's like the blacks in the South and it says "white" or "Negro" or "black," and about where you can drink water, or even watch a movie, it's all the same. I think you're doing a good job. I think people that come away from that can see that, and it can happen. It's no different as the Civil Rights Movement in the South, as our civil rights movement was taken away from us. And I think that's what it shows in the Park Service, in the museum.

RM: Is there anything that you'd like to add to finish this interview, anything that I missed or that you'd just like to say for the record?

PS: No. I think I pretty much covered it all. I only hope that people can see that they need to be, watch what's happening in this country, it can happen again. It's happening to Muslims.

RM: Okay, Pat, I think we are right near the end of that last tape, and thank you so, so, so much for sharing this with us.

PS: You're welcome.

RM: On behalf of both Kristen and on behalf of me, but also everyone, because now this becomes part of the national domain, and people can learn these stories through this interview, so it's invaluable, thank you.

PS: You're welcome.

<End Segment 26> - Copyright © 2015 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.