The Marc Stirdivant Scholarship for Justice Student Awards will be presented on Saturday, April 19, from 12 to 3 p.m. at the San Fernando Valley Japanese American Community Center, 12953 Branford St., Pacoima.

The Tuna Canyon Detention Station was a Department of Justice site in Tujunga where Japanese, German and Italian immigrants and others were unjustly incarcerated during World War II. Marc Stirdivant (1948-2019), who was active with the Tuna Canyon Detention Station Coalition, believed that youth can be change agents so long as they understand the history of a place and the power of diversity.

A $600 scholarship is provided for each first-place entry in art, essay, or 2-3-minute video and $200 for second place to high school students for a total of $2,400.

The essay asks who can best describe, within 500 words, their personal role in ensuring that the injustices that occurred at Tuna Canyon do not happen to others. Entries are judged on originality, writing skill, depth, historical accuracy and clear action recommendations.

Visual art entries must enable people to understand the history of the Tuna Canyon Detention Station and feel deeply enough to take action to stop future civil liberty violations.

For the newly created Video Scholarship, entries must provide compelling reasons to support the Tuna Canyon Detention Station preservation efforts. Videos are judged on originality, factual accuracy, informative value, audio/visual quality as well as the video’s ability to evoke emotions or actions.

The Tuna Canyon Detention Station exhibit will also be on display. SFVJACC has been a proud sponsor of the traveling exhibit since its inception in 2015.

Donations are welcome. Ample parking available.

For more information, email [email protected] or visit www.tunacanyon.org.

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