Title: Manzanar
Headings: Manzanar, California
Manzanar, California
Daily Life
The Manzanar "Incident"
Establishing a Sense of Normalcy
Sources

Content: After failing to receive any pay for three months, internees protested and the turbulence resulted in the riots on December 6. To complicate matters, the resentment of the Owens Valley residents toward the Japanese Americans and the camp itself was worsening. The Manzanar "Incident"
On December 6, 1942, one of the most serious civil disturbances to occur at all the relocation centers erupted at Manzanar. Months of internal tension and gang activity had raged between members of the Japanese American Citizens League  (JACL) and many of the first-generation Japanese. Although the JACL leaders acted as representatives to the administration, the elders did not share their views and had little respect for them. Meetings turned into shouting sessions with beatings and death threats against the pro-administration group. On the night of December 5, six masked men beat JACL leader Fred Tayama while he was in his bed. The leader of the Kitchen Workers Union, Harry Ueno, was arrested for the beating and jailed in the nearby town of Independence despite a lack of conclusive evidence. The next day about 2,000 internees gathered in support of Ueno, and a "committee of five" was selected to negotiate his release. Center Director Ralph Merritt attempted to talk with the agitated crowd and subsequently agreed to bring Ueno back to the relocation center jail to avoid further violence or bloodshed.