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Winners of a poster contest for eighth-grade students at Sonora Elementary School who created posters to educate people about civil rights will be recognized Saturday at an event in Tuolumne.
The Bill of Rights Fund Poster Contest is supported by the Joe Ada Halatani Fund and the Amy Ada Halatani Fund, managed by the nonprofit Sonora Regional Foundation, and honors the late Sonoran leader Halatanis.
The works of 19 students will be exhibited. The six student finalists were Wendy Zuniga, Jillian Ferreira, Ethan McCrevis, Abby Mehaffey, Remy Rainsan, Zoe Kear, and Camryn Smith. Additionally, students Gracie Mays, Payten Wilson, Olivia Hinkle, Rory Jordan, Liam Eaton, Maverick Barranco, Maddie Nasonto, Katie Coons, Aurora Fletcher, Gracie McCulloch, Justin Hostetter and Aiden Riley will be recognized with honorable mention.
Born in California with the rights of all American citizens under the Fourteenth Amendment, the Halatani family was of Japanese descent and survived internment by the U.S. government during World War II.
Joe Halatani also served in the U.S. Army’s 442nd Fighter Regiment during World War II, fighting against Nazi Germany in France and Italy. The 442nd Regiment was composed almost entirely of second-generation Japanese American soldiers. It is also the most decorated infantry regiment in U.S. military history.
In 1991, shortly after the U.S. government apologized for the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II and acknowledged that its actions were based on “racial prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.” , the Halatani family used up the $10,000 in compensation they received from the United States. The US government establishes the Bill of Rights Fund. This endowment is managed by the Sonora Regional Foundation for Sonora elementary school education programs specifically related to the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, and 14th Amendment.
Mr. and Mrs. Haratani celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in September 2017. Joe Halatani passed away on December 6, 2019 at Skyline Senior Living in Sonora. He was 96 years old. Amy Ada Halatani passed away on March 1st of this year in Soulsbyville. She was 97 years old.
Columbia resident Richard Halatani, one of the Halatani family’s three sons, is proud of his parents and the legacy their lives have for all Americans. Sonora Elementary School teacher Kelly O’Brien said in a phone interview Thursday that she thought of the possibility of a poster contest for Sonora Elementary students during recent preparations for a storytime event in which parents shared the challenges they have faced and overcome. said.
When Haratani approached O’Brien about the poster contest idea, she encouraged him to talk about his family’s history to eighth-grade students in the classroom, O’Brien said. Haratani visited with about 70 students from three second-year middle school classrooms, all of whom participated in the contest.
Sonora Elementary School art and civics teachers, including Jen Arthur, Lauren Reed, and Veronica Gray, also created lesson plans to teach eighth-grade students the importance of civic engagement and a deeper appreciation of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. I have summarized.
“As a teacher here, I knew about the Bill of Rights Fund and I’ve known Richard for a long time,” O’Brien said. “I have always been inspired by the actions of my father, who was interned and then volunteered to serve in the military. To be in the war, to know all about it, and to know that they took part of the reparations and dedicated it to the education of our schools, which is always a valuable learning opportunity.”
O’Brien and Richard Halatani judged entries for the Bill of Rights Fund Poster Contest last week, and both were impressed by how well the students understood the Bill of Rights, the 14th Amendment, and the need to vote. Mr. O’Brien said he received the following. .
“They really internalized the story of the Halatanis and were trying to put a head on the civil rights violations in America,” O’Brien said of the students who participated in the Bill of Rights Fund’s poster contest. “For many of our eighth graders, it was the first time they learned about the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.”
The poster contest is a project of the nonpartisan, grant-funded Pebble in the Pond: Democracy Ripples, a project designed by Tuolumne County resident and artist BZ Smith to encourage voter registration and voter education. will be held at the same time. The project will be funded in June 2023 and is expected to be completed by late June this year.
“Pebbles in the Pond: Ripples of Democracy” is funded by a grant from the California Arts Council’s Heartland Creative Corps and in collaboration with the Tuolumne County Arts Alliance. The project includes a live audience, video and podcast programs to create a series of events that the people of Tuolumne County can participate in.
Smith said in a phone interview Thursday that the focus is on reaching everyone of voting age in Tuolumne County.
“The main idea is to get people to participate in what we call democracy,” Smith said. “We want people to want to register to vote and learn how to vote wisely.”
The “Pebbles in a Pond” event at the Tuolumne Resilience Center, 18241 Bay Ave. in Tuolumne, begins Saturday at 2 p.m. The name of the event is “We, the People: Stories of America.”
Speakers at the event include Richard Halatani, Storyteller Smith, Andrea Lisbon, and Lisette Sweetland. There will also be live music by The Neighborhood Sounds and Honey Run.
For more information on “A Pebble in the Pond: The Ripple Effects of Democracy,” please visit: www.bzsmith.com/pebbles online.
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