NEVER FORGET

Death Valley Joins National Parks in Trump Defiance

Tweeted internee photo with anti-racism quote.

On the same day President Donald Trump is expected to order a temporary ban on immigrants from certain Muslim countries, as well as a hold on refugees, Death Valley National Park’s official Twitter account posted stark reminders of the U.S. internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. “During WWII Death Valley hosted 65 endangered internees after the #Manzanar Riot. #JapaneseAmericanInternment,” the first tweet read, matter-of-factly. Following that, the account posted a picture of one particular internee, Togo Tanaka, accompanied by his famous quote against the racist internment policy: “We want the opportunity they have to prove their loyalty. We are asked to accept a denial of that privilege in the name of patriotism.” The subtle reminder of America’s racially checkered past came one day after Badlands National Park dryly tweeted facts about climate change in defiance of Trump’s gag order on all bureaus of the U.S. Department of the Interior (and in defiance of his deeming climate change a “hoax.”)