PROJECT TITLE
TSURU FOR SOLIDARITY
Crane Folding Session
Saturday, 2.29.2020 + Sunday, 3.1.2020 :: DENVER BUDDHIST TEMPLE
TSURU FOR SOLIDARITY
Japanese Americans from across the country plan to gather in Washington, D.C. when it is safe again to do so for a “National Pilgrimage to Close the Camps.” Tsuru for Solidarity plans to bring upwards of 525,000 paper cranes, or "tsuru", as expressions of solidarity with immigrant and refugee communities that are under attack today.
125,000 of these cranes represent the members of our community who were rounded up and incarcerated in U.S. concentration camps during World War II, including both Japanese Americans and Japanese Latin Americans.
During our two-day crane-folding session, co-hosted by the Tri-State Denver Buddhist Temples and the Buddhist Women's Association, alongside Japanese Arts Network - our local goal was to contribute upwards of 5,000 cranes from community members and supporters across the state of Colorado.
In total, we folded more than 6,500 CRANES!
Tsuru for Solidarity is a nonviolent, direct action project of Japanese American social justice advocates working to end detention sites and support front-line immigrant and refugee communities that are being targeted by racist, inhumane immigration policies. We stand on the moral authority of Japanese Americans who suffered the atrocities and legacy of U.S. concentration camps during WWII and we say, “Stop Repeating History!”
Never Again is NOW. Their mission is to:
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educate, advocate, and protest to close all U.S. concentration camps;
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build solidarity with other communities of color that have experienced forced removal, detention, deportation, separation of families, and other forms of racial and state violence;
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coordinate intergenerational, cross-community healing circles addressing the trauma of our shared histories.