In 2002 I wrote a five part series of columns on the internment camp Manzanar for the local paper. When Manzanar and the rest of the camps were opened not everyone in America supported them. Prominent opponents of the camps were the American Civil Liberties Union and members of the Quaker faith. A number of individuals also protested the camps. One of these individuals staged his protest as an act of true friendship. Ralph Lazo was a one-man melting pot. He could trace his ancestors to the Spanish explorer Cortez's party. He was born in a black hospital in Los Angeles, and received his early education on an Indian Reservation. In 1942, Lazo was living in the Bunker Hill section of Los Angeles which at that time was a neighborhood filled with Basques, Jews, Hispanics, Blacks, Filipinos and Japanese. A large number of Lazo's friends were Japanese and he was a regular dinner guest at a number of their homes. His home life wasn't ideal. His mother died when he was five and his father, a painter and muralist, was absent a lot of the time. During the round-up of the Japanese, Lazo, who was 16 at the time, helped his friends' families in the sale of their belongings. Most of his friends at Belmont High School were going to the camps so he didn't see any reason why he couldn't go along as a form of protest against the camps. As he said of the Japanese internment "It was immoral. It was wrong, and I couldn't accept it. These people hadn't done anything that I hadn't done, except to go to Japanese language school. They were American, just like I am." He told his dad he was going to camp. He purposely left the announcement vague, letting his Dad think he was going to a weekend camp. His dad learned of his son's whereabouts when the Los Angeles Times came out with the headline, "Mexican- American Passes for Japanese." Lazo didn't have any big elaborate plan to sneak into the camp. He went down to a local Santa Fe station and signed up for a train full of Japanese heading for Manzanar. Officials at the station didn't ask him about his heritage. Once he got to the camp and the truth about his heritage came out, camp officials decided to let him stay. His father was also understanding of the situation. He realized that his son was being taken care of and going to school so he didn't try to get him out of the camp. The sad part for Lazo was that most of his friends were actually sent to Red Mountain, Colorado instead of Manzanar. At first, Lazo was put up in a block along with other Japanese bachelors. Most the residents did not speak English and Lazo spoke no Japanese. In spite of the difference, the men took care of him and watched out for him. Later he moved in with a friend whose mother wanted to take care of him. While at the camp, Lazo worked for $12 dollars a month delivering mail. After that job he became an activities director for the camp at $16 dollars a month. At school he finished last in his class. Probably his grades suffered because of all the extra-curricular activity he participated in or instigated. He arranged and started dance clubs, organized Christmas caroling, started and was a member of the High School's cheerleading squad, and played football. He was so popular in school that he was elected class president despite his grades. Lazo could have left the camp at anytime but chose not to because no one else could just leave. The only time he left camp was when he represented Manzanar at a YMCA conference in Colorado and, like a number of other residents, when he entered the military. His Latino heritage was officially recognized when in August 1944, he was drafted into the Army. He was stationed in the South Pacific and fought in the liberation of the Philippines. He earned a Bronze Star for heroism in combat. After the war, Lazo graduated from UCLA and earned a masters degree in Sociology at Cal State Northridge. He worked at a number of schools in the Los Angeles area and worked with gang members. He eventually ended up as a counselor for Valley College where he retired in 1987. Throughout his life he maintained close ties with his fellow internees. He was one of ten people who contributed $1,000 dollars or more to a fund for a class action suit against the government. The case was won and internees got financial compensation. In 1992, Lazo died of cancer. When the class of 1944 held their 50th class reunion they dedicated the celebration to their late friend. At the celebration one of his friends at the camp, William Hohri said: "When 140 million Americans turned their backs on us and excluded us into remote, desolate prison camps, the separation was absolute-almost. Ralph Lazo's presence among us said, no, not everyone. As a nation, as Japanese-Americans, and as his classmates, we need to remember Ralph for his gift of courage and human kindness and embrace him in our heart with love and gratitude."

'D' has been unemployed for over eight years now. He is the first in his family to go to college and get a degree in sociology from VCU. Unlike 50% of homeless people, D is not addicted to drugs or alcohol. He'd rather go to the gym and listen to music. His only setback is a misdemeanor crime more than six years ago. He is now in his third job program and hopes that it will be his last.