Manzanar National Historic Site
Born Free and Equal by Ansel Adams
Born Free and Equal by Ansel Adams
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National Historic Landmark
1985 National Historic Site 1992 Park Size 814 acres Annual Visitors 105,000 Park Fee none Superintendent Jeremy Scheier Park Partner Sierra Forever Location Inyo County, CA |
In 1942, the United States government ordered more than 120,000 men, women, and children of Japanese descent to leave their homes and detained them in remote, military-style camps during World War II. Manzanar National Historic Site preserves the stories of one of these camps to remind future generations of the fragility of American civil liberties.
While the confinement center was open, Manzanar’s Project Director Ralph Merritt invited Ansel Adams to photograph daily life. He visited four times between 1943 and 1944, the result of which was the book Born Free and Equal: The Story of Loyal Japanese Americans. Ansel’s images and text sought to give voice to the experiences of people at the camp as a counterpoint to wartime propaganda. The book was controversial and had only a small print run. Eventually, Adams donated his images to the Library of Congress. Many of them are the most iconic images of Manzanar today. Original copies are rare and expensive. Manzanar NHS, the Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association (now known as Sierra Forever), the Adams family, and The Fund for People in Parks teamed up to republish Born Free and Equal to honor Adams’ work and the stories of those who lived at Manzanar so that future generations may learn from them. A limited-edition run of 3,000 copies was printed in September 2021, and copies are now available online and at the park visitor center. Future print runs will be considered by the Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association. Project Cost: $69,000 Project Completed: 2021 The Fund for People in Parks: $39,000 Sierra Forever: $30,000 This is exciting news. So many of us currently at Manzanar and some of our predecessors wished for many years that this would happen and your organizations are FINALLY making it come true!" |
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