TORRANCE — “Pearl Harbor Reconsidered” is ????? ??????? ????????a new course offered by El Camino College Community Education that closely examines the events leading up to the unprecedented attack on U.S. military bases on Oahu, Hawaii.

Using declassified materials, viewpoints of various contemporary historians and investigators, and an array of historical visual materials, this course questions the “official story” that it was a surprise attack and that the Navy and Army commanders were derelict in their duty.

Instructor John Powers recently presented this course to more than 70 adult students, many of whom lived through the event, at the life-long learning program of UC Riverside Extension. “It opened my eyes about Pearl Harbor,” noted one student, “what really happened and how it came to be a tragedy for the U.S.”

The course also looks at the forced removal and incarceration of 110,000 citizens and legal residents. “The attack had devastating consequences for the people on Oahu,” observes Powers, “and also for the civilian population of Japanese ancestry living on the U.S. West Coast. Suddenly, they were no longer protected by the Constitution. They were the enemy, too.”

Powers has produced cultural programs for the City of Torrance and El Camino College. He is noted for his theater series “Works in Progress,” presented at Nakano Theater.

“Pearl Harbor Reconsidered” will be offered at El Camino College, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance. The course will meet on five consecutive Saturdays, March 2 through March 30, 2019, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Tuition is $99 plus a $15 materials cost. To enroll, call (310) 660-6460.

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