UPDATE / March 27, 2020

Due to COVID-19, for health and safety reasons, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the June 5th-7th National Pilgrimage to Close the Camps in Washington, D.C. We also are postponing the Caravan to Close the Camps. 


POSTPONED

Courage to Resist is a proud endorser of the National Pilgrimage to Close the Camps, “A chance to join thousands of Japanese Americans and other communities for programs, protest, and healing together.”

These events and actions are being lead by Tsuru for Solidarity, a nonviolent, direct-action project of Japanese American activists who are working to end detention sites and support immigrant and refugee communities who are being targeted by inhumane policies.

For more information:
tsuruforsolidarity.org/pilgrimage

Here are the events so far

Caravan to Close the Camps – last week of May, 2020 (exact dates coming soon)
Building on our mission statement to build solidarity among allied communities and to support the march and rally, a multi-community Caravan to Close the Camps with a focus on young activists and artists will depart from Little Tokyo, Los Angeles the last week of May (exact dates coming soon).

Congressional Education Visits, Friday, June 5
While we are in D.C., we will fly our tsuru to our representatives in Congress to educate them about the connections between our own World War II incarceration and present-day immigrant detention facilities and inhumane immigration policies. If you’re interested in participating in Congressional Education visits you should indicate your interest in your registration (participation is free).

Opening Ceremony & Solidarity Reception, Friday, June 5 & Saturday, June 6
On Friday and Saturday nights, we will be gathering for engaging evenings of speakers, performers, and community building. Friday evening includes refreshments and Saturday evening includes dinner. Registration for these events is required.

National Protest to Close the Camps, Saturday, June 6
The capstone of our program in D.C. is our protest rally and march. We will start at the Sylvan Theater at the base of the Washington Monument for a rally to lift up our voices to demand humane immigration policies and an end to immigrant detention practices. We will be led by hundreds of our survivors, along with representatives of frontline communities, on a march to Lafayette Square. From there, across the street from the White House, we will present 125,000 tsuru, representing those who were incarcerated during WWII and 80,000 mariposa, representing those who are currently in U.S. detention.

Healing Circles for Change, Saturday, June 6
Healing intergenerational trauma has become an embedded element of Tsuru work. In all of our work, we believe in bringing together indigenous, undocumented, Black, brown, Jewish, refugee, Arab/Muslim communities and more; communities that are in the shocks and aftershocks of violence, communities that have been historically pitted against one another to consolidate power.