Stand Up for Justice: The Ralph Lazo Story
Encyclopedia
Stand Up For Justice: The Ralph Lazo Story (2004) is an educational narrative short film, co-produced by Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress (NCRR) and Visual Communications (VC)
.
during World War II
, Ralph Lazo, a 16-year-old of Mexican American
and Irish American
descent from East L.A.
followed his Japanese American friends, neighbors and classmates in to the Manzanar
Japanese American internment
camp. He remained in the U.S. internment camp until 1944, when he was drafted in to the army, and served in the Pacific theater
. Not many beyond the Japanese American community knew of his story, inspiring Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress (NCRR) to partner with Visual Communications
to create an educational film to teach his cross-cultural story in the classroom. Funded by grants from the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, the half-hour drama was shot at the Manzanar
National Historic Site
, and in Los Angeles, and completed in 2004.
Visual Communications (VC)
Visual Communications – also known as VC – is a community-based non-profit media arts organization in Los Angeles, dedicated to creating, preserving and presenting Asian Pacific American history and culture through the media arts...
.
Background
When 120,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly evacuated from the West Coast of the United StatesWest Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Ralph Lazo, a 16-year-old of Mexican American
Mexican American
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
and Irish American
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
descent from East L.A.
East Los Angeles (region)
East Los Angeles is the portion of the City of Los Angeles that lies east of Downtown Los Angeles, the Los Angeles River and the unincorporated areas of Lincoln Heights, west of the San Gabriel Valley, East Los Angeles and City Terrace, south of Cypress Park, and north of Vernon, California and...
followed his Japanese American friends, neighbors and classmates in to the Manzanar
Manzanar
Manzanar is most widely known as the site of one of ten camps where over 110,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II. Located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada in California's Owens Valley between the towns of Lone Pine to the south and Independence to the north, it is...
Japanese American internment
Japanese American internment
Japanese-American internment was the relocation and internment by the United States government in 1942 of approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese who lived along the Pacific coast of the United States to camps called "War Relocation Camps," in the wake of Imperial Japan's attack on...
camp. He remained in the U.S. internment camp until 1944, when he was drafted in to the army, and served in the Pacific theater
Pacific Theater of Operations
The Pacific Theater of Operations was the World War II area of military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative command structures of the American forces during that period...
. Not many beyond the Japanese American community knew of his story, inspiring Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress (NCRR) to partner with Visual Communications
Visual Communications (VC)
Visual Communications – also known as VC – is a community-based non-profit media arts organization in Los Angeles, dedicated to creating, preserving and presenting Asian Pacific American history and culture through the media arts...
to create an educational film to teach his cross-cultural story in the classroom. Funded by grants from the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, the half-hour drama was shot at the Manzanar
Manzanar
Manzanar is most widely known as the site of one of ten camps where over 110,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II. Located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada in California's Owens Valley between the towns of Lone Pine to the south and Independence to the north, it is...
National Historic Site
National Historic Sites (United States)
National Historic Sites are protected areas of national historic significance in the United States. A National Historic Site usually contains a single historical feature directly associated with its subject...
, and in Los Angeles, and completed in 2004.
Synopsis
In 1941, Ralph Lazo is a 16-year-old student at Belmont High School, an ethnically mixed school in downtown Los Angeles. When Pearl Harbor is bombed, Ralph's Japanese American friend, Jimmy Matsuoka, and his family, are forced to sell their belongings and evacuate to a remote concentration camp. Ralph surprises his friends at the train station as they are about to depart for Manzanar, a relocation center in central California. He joins them for the 5-hour train ride, the three-year stay, and a life-long friendship.Cast
- Alexis CruzAlexis CruzAlexis Cruz is an American actor, known for his performances as Rafael in Touched by an Angel and as Skaara in Stargate and Stargate SG-1. Cruz was born in The Bronx, New York of Puerto Rican descent. His mother, Julia, was a songwriter. He currently resides in Los Angeles. He went to Boston...
as Ralph Lazo - Chad Sakamoto as Jimmy
- Brittany Ishibashi as Ruby
- Marcus Toji as Art
- Greg Hashimoto as Harry
- Emily KurodaEmily KurodaEmily Kuroda is best known for her role as Mrs. Kim on TV's Gilmore Girls, but she has had a long career on stage and screen and is a veteran of East West Players, Los Angeles' premier Asian American theater group.-Life and career:...
as Mrs. Matsuoka - Tim ToyamaTim ToyamaTim Toyama is a playwright and producer. He is Sansei presently living in Los Angeles, CA. He is co-founder of the Asian American media company Cedar Grove Productions, and its sister Asian American theatre company, Cedar Grove OnStage. He attended C.S.U.N...
as Mr. Matsuoka - Ciro Suarez as Ralph's Father
- Sarah Rincon as Ralph's Sister
- Ron Martinez as Senior Ralph
- Takayo FischerTakayo FischerTakayo Fischer is an American stage, film and TV actress, as well as voice-over actress and singer.-Personal life:Fischer was born in Hardwick, California, the daughter of Issei Chukuro and Kinko Tsubouchi...
as Senior Ruby
External links
- Stand Up For Justice page on NCRR site