ABOUT
The Manzanar Baseball Project is a compelling sport-meets-art initiative produced by Great Leap and spearheaded by Great Leap Associate Artistic Director, Dan Kwong. It is dedicated to preserving the legacy of baseball in Manzanar, one of the ten major concentration camps where Japanese Americans were incarcerated during WWII, located in the high desert of California near Death Valley.
Through its one-day celebration of baseball & culture at Manzanar, Great Leap recognizes the profound significance of the National Pastime as a symbol of resilience, an expression of community spirit, and a way of reclaiming American identity for those who endured camp.
Building partnerships with camp descendants, community members & allies, and the National Park Service, the Manzanar Baseball Project honors incarcerated Japanese Americans who found a way to play the game they loved in spite of the legal atrocity committed against them. It is a tribute to the power of human spirit and the determination of a community to live life as fully as possible, no matter what.
Facing this dark chapter of U.S. history, we believe that honestly acknowledging our Nation's flaws and mistakes - not hiding or ignoring them - is a basic necessity for moving towards that "more perfect Union" so aspired to by our country's Founders. This acknowledgement is not weakness - on the contrary, it demonstrates confidence, integrity, and courage. Doing this can also foster greater compassion and empathy, and open doors for dialogue about justice, equality, and respect.
Meet the Project Director
Photo: Meiko Arquillo
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Photo: Aaron Rapoport Photography
Photo: Aaron Rapoport Photography
Dan Kwong, Project Director
Associate Artistic Director, Great Leap
Dan Kwong is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist (and lifelong athlete) whose work spans across various mediums including theater, performance art, writing, and documentary video production. With a career spanning several decades, Dan Kwong has established himself as a prominent figure in the Asian American arts scene and is celebrated for his innovative approach to storytelling.
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Dan’s work is known for deeply personal narratives that explore themes of identity, culture, and relationship. Through his performances, Kwong has challenged stereotypes and shed light on the complexity of the Asian American experience, and the human condition.
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Dan's mother and her family were incarcerated at the so-called “Manzanar Relocation Center” from 1942 to 1945. His mother's wartime experiences instilled in him a sense of social justice at an early age. As a result, the subject of Japanese American WWII internment has been featured in several of his artworks, bringing attention to a chapter of civil rights history still unknown to most Americans.
Dan has volunteered on restoration projects at Manzanar since 2007, including Merritt Park garden, the apple orchard, and beginning in May 2023, the baseball field. His late-mother was also deeply involved with Manzanar, being interviewed for their oral history library, corresponding with visiting students, and donating one of her weavings.
In addition to his career as an artist and activist, Dan has played baseball in the Nisei Athletic Union (N.A.U.) Japanese American baseball leagues of California since 1971. His 54-years-and-counting with the Li'l Tokio Giants is considered the longest career in N.A.U. baseball history.
The Manzanar Baseball Project uniquely combines Dan's lifelong interests and passions as artist, athlete, and community activist. His goal is for MBP to become an annual tradition that combines sport and art to elevate the visibility of Japanese American history and culture, promote social justice, and celebrate the beauty of baseball.
Dan is Associate Artistic Director of Great Leap, Inc., Mentor Resident Artist at 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica, CA., and a graduate of School of The Art Institute of Chicago.
Manzanar Baseball Project is produced by Great Leap, Inc.
Executive Order 9066 and Manzanar
Signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, E.O. 9066 is a stark reminder of the vulnerability of our Constitutional rights.
Spurred by racism and wartime hysteria following the attack on Pearl Harbor, E.O. 9066 authorized the largest mass incarceration in U.S. history. It was solely based on race. Over 120,000 Japanese Americans living on the West Coast were forcibly removed from their homes, their livelihoods destroyed, their communities shattered. They were denied any due process of law: there were no convictions, no trials, no charges filed. It took until December 1944 for the Supreme Court to rule this action illegal.
Manzanar had been the first large scale camp to be constructed. Following the war’s end, it was quickly dismantled. After years of persevering efforts by Japanese American community activists starting in the late '60s, Manzanar gradually began to receive governmental recognition. In 1992 it was designated a National Historic Site. Today it is a place of education, reflection, and healing; a testament to the resilience and perseverance of those who were unjustly incarcerated; a reminder of mistakes of the past that must not be forgotten.
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February 19th has become the annual "Day of Remembrance" for the Japanese American community - recognizing the day E.O. 9066 was signed, changing the course of history for Japanese Americans.
Great Leap creates bridges to a more just world, weaving performing arts, cultural practices, and community engagement to transform our relationships to the Earth and each other