JACL Weekly Digest

April 30, 2024

JACL National News

Registration and Hotel Booking Now Open for the 2024 JACL National Convention!

Sponsorship information, committee forms, and volunteer registration are all available online now! Click the button to take you to the convention page below!

The tentative convention schedule is also now available to view!

Watch the New Member Orientation Recording!

Our new member orientation took place last week! Participants had the opportunity to hear from special guest  Susan H. Kamei (a key Redress Movement leader, renowned author and professor), hear from JACL leadership, and find out all JACL has to offer. Watch the recording below!

JACL Chapters News

If any JACL Chapters would like to submit stories or events to the Weekly Digest, please send inquiries to Education Programs Manager, Matthew Weisbly at mweisbly@jacl.org

Sacramento Japantown Mural Fundraiser

San Diego JACL Monthly Virtual Dialogue

In Defiance of Racism: How a Black and a Chinese American family defied racism together in early San Diego

Despite systemic racism in the early 1900s, the Thompson family, early Coronado Black landowners, rented to the Dong family, recent Chinese immigrants.  Despite animosity towards non-whites, the Thompsons promoted inclusion and support. The Dongs eventually purchased the home that they had rented in a rent-to-own fashion.
 
Ronald Dong recalls the overt racism of the era, where children of color were excluded from social events yet banded together to create their own social circles.  Despite the strong social pressures of anti-miscegenation, Ron met Janice and created a successful family and life.  The family bucked societal norms and instead promoted individual affirmation and happiness.  
 
Although the Dongs have since moved away from San Diego, they continued to manage their Coronado property until selling it recently.  With the proceeds from the sale, they will be gifting $5 million to the Black Resource Center of San Diego State University in honor of the Thompsons.  The money will help fund student scholarships and help with upkeep of the Center.  
 
Join us to hear about this inspiring and heartwarming story from Janice and Ronald Dong on Thursday, May 9th at 6:30 pm PDT. RSVP to sandiegojacl@gmail.com to get the link.

Written Memories - A Book Reading

Ventura County JACL APA Film Festival

From Our Partners

Okaeri Voices Watch Party Featuring Al Nakatani!

Volunteer project documenting the contributions of Japanese American farmers in Sacramento/Yolo Counties

Hello! My name is Amanda Mei Kim and I’m the lead researcher/founder of www.KanshaHistory.org. We are a community history project that is documenting the incredible contributions of Japanese American farmers prior to World War II. Volunteers are transcribing and proofing the farm transfer records of 6,000 California Japanese American farmers who lost their farms/homes/livelihoods during World War II. This is a lost history for many Nikkei families because most were renters and could never return home after the war. This project began in the fall of 2023. Since then, we have recruited 50 volunteers and transcribed 1,000 records.  Our next project, June-July 2024, will focus on the 600 records of the Sacramento Delta, where AAPIs have a rich agricultural history.  This portion of the project is funded by the APIs Rise Fund. 

Volunteers range in age from teens to 80s. Family groups, clubs, youth and seniors are all welcome! If you have 10 hours, reliable internet, an email account, and basic data entry skills, join us!

Volunteer Orientations:
May 25, 10 am
Jun 3, 6 pm

To join us, sign up here: https://forms.gle/N9cEj4xpvT2J3frt5

See attached for examples. Every record is a precious family story.

We are a fiscally sponsored project of the nonprofit California Black Media which provides us with discounted financial services and administrative oversight. We also use their taxpayer ID# so that all donations to Kansha History are tax-deductible. At the time of the incarceration, California’s Black newspapers were the most vocal, and in many communities, the only non-Nikkei opponent of the incarceration. 

Help us connect descendants to their powerful family stories. To read more about the volunteer experience, please check out these testimonials.  If you can’t volunteer, please spread the word and donate.

Defining Courage Coming to Houston!

Sam Mihara - A Detailed Look at Japanese American Internment Camps at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum

I Am An American: The Nisei Soldier Experience Traveling Exhibit - Call for Artifacts/Donations

From the Nisei Veterans Network

We appreciate your time to learn about the US Army's first traveling exhibit, I Am An American: The Nisei Soldier Experience Traveling Exhibit, which will tell the extraordinary service of the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd RCT, and Military Intelligence Service.
 
Starting next month, we will begin the exciting process of designing and fabricating the 1,200-square-foot exhibit, which will take 18 months. We are looking forward to sharing the design and updating you on our progress as we work towards the launch of the 11-city traveling exhibit in February 2026.
 
As a follow up, it is not too late to submit artifacts/photos for consideration. Deadline is May 1, but earlier submissions are highly encouraged.
 

• Call for Artifacts: We are currently seeking 1) Camp artifacts; 2) Legacy objects; photos; and 3) I Am An American associated objects/items that express their American identity.
   
• Soldiers from the Camp: We are seeking Nisei soldiers who volunteered, drafted, or had families in Manzanar, Rohwer or Topaz. To be considered for this Soldiers from the Camp kiosk, photos of their camp experience and military service are required. We also welcome objects associated with their camp or military experience.
   
• Please email NVN at info@nvnvets.org. NVN is responsible for the research and development of historical content prior to review by Museum curators.

The NVN also seeks your support to become a sponsor or to make a donation for the Nisei Soldier Traveling Exhibit.
 

• To become an exhibit sponsor, visit I Am An American: The Nisei Soldier Traveling Exhibit. Click here to download a sponsorship form.  If you have any questions, please contact Christine at Christine@nvnvets.org.
   
• To donate, visit our donation page. For a limited time, we will offer an I Am An American traveling exhibit lapel pin to those who donate $100 or more. 

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