Be a Part of JACL as our Next Executive Director!

We are launching a national search for our next Executive Director. Our recruitment partner, Bonsai Leadership Group, is proud to serve as our recruitment partner for this important search.

The Executive Director will serve as JACL’s chief executive and public-facing leader, responsible for advancing the organization’s mission, strengthening its national presence, and ensuring long-term sustainability. The ideal candidate brings a strong track record of organizational leadership, the ability to build and lead high-performing teams, and the skill to cultivate relationships with stakeholders, partners, and funders to support JACL’s continued growth.

This is an opportunity to lead with purpose and steward a powerful legacy into the future. If this role speaks to you, we encourage you to join the candidate pool or share this opportunity with your network. 

Learn more and join the candidate pool: https://www.bonsaileadershipgroup.com/jacl-ed

Candidates are encouraged to submit their interest by February 28 for priority consideration.

If you have questions about this search or would like to nominate someone for this opportunity, please contact Bonsai Leadership Group at careers@bonsaileadershipgroup.com. 

From the PC: Academy Museum
Presents Short Films for DOR

Timed to the day to coincide with annual Day of Remembrance events, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will present its inaugural “Short Films Honoring the Day of Remembrance: Executive Order 9066” on Feb. 19 in Los Angeles.

The screenings begin at 7 p.m. in the 277-seat Ted Mann Theater at the Academy Museum, located at 6067 Wilshire Blvd. The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures opened in 2021 and is overseen by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Scheduled to speak at the screenings are Academy Museum Director and President Amy Homma and AMPAS board of governors member Chris Tashima, who won an Oscar in 1998 for the narrative short film “Visas and Virtue” and curated the event’s lineup of movies.

2026 JACL National Scholarship Applications Available Now!

Scholarship Program guidelines, instructions, and applications have been posted on the JACL website, www.jacl.org, and can be accessed by clicking the “Youth” tab on the menu bar. You may also click the button below, "To Learn More or Apply Click Here."

Freshman applications must be submitted directly by the applicant to National JACL through the online form no later than Monday, March 2, 2026, 11:59 p.m. Hawaiian Standard Time (HST).  

Applications for the non-freshman scholarship categories (undergraduate, graduate, law, creative/performing arts, and financial aid) are also to be sent directly by the applicant to National JACL through the online form no later than Friday, April 3, 2026, 11:59 p.m. Hawaiian Standard Time (HST).  

All those applying to the National JACL Scholarship Program must be a youth/student or individual member of the JACL; a couple/family membership held by a parent does NOT meet this requirement. Applicants must be enrolled in school in Fall 2025 to be eligible for a scholarship. If a student has received two National scholarship awards previously, they are no longer eligible to apply as the limit is two national awards per person.

The JA Experience - Website & Video Series

The JAExperience.org is a long-needed update to our printed curriculum guide, The Japanese American Experience. Rather than a traditional reprint, we are excited to bring the Japanese American Experience into the modern age with a fully fledged website! 

Alongside the new website, we're also introducing the Japanese American Experience Video Series! Thanks to the Takahashi Family Foundation, we'll be publishing a series of ten short videos spanning the history of the Japanese American community. The series will be available on the JA Experience Website, and each video will be narrated by a community member and feature archival footage and photos. 

2026 Day of Remembrance Events!

As we're coming up on Day of Remembrance, JACL is once again asking all of our chapters and supporters to send us information on any events that you know of so that we can share it with the wider membership and Japanese American community! 

Please send any information you have on your DOR events, including date(s), times, any website/social links, and images/flyers you might have! We'll continually update the listing, so if you currently only have some information and are still waiting on more, send us what you have, and we can update the event page. The event page and calendar is available through the button below! 

Send any program information you have to Education Programs Manager, Matthew Weisbly at mweisbly@jacl.org

February 19: Day of Remembrance Vigil at Broadview ICE Facility

February 19: Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial — Day of Remembrance, 2026

February 19: Film and Conversation: Removed by Force: Day of Remembrance 2026

February 19: Twin Cities JACL Day of Remembrance - Screening of "One Fighting Irishman"

February 19: Sonoma County JACL Day of Remembrance - Screening of "League of Dreams"

February 19-22: JACL Arizona Chapter - Gila River Connections: A Celebration of Shared History

February 19: Idaho Falls - "Education and Freedom at Minidoka: The Diary of Superintendent Arthur Kleinkopf"

February 19: Day of Remembrance prayer and origami

February 20: Marysville Day of Remembrance PRELUDE - Meet the Author

February 21: Puyallup Day of Remembrance 2026

February 21: New England JACL Day of Remembrance - Screening of "Third Act"

February 21: 2026 Films of Remembrance - SF

February 21: Wing Luke Museum - Japanese American Remembrance Trail Tour

February 21: Marysville Day of Remembrance​

February 21: Sacramento Day of Remembrance

February 21: 2026 Day of Remembrance Los Angeles

February 22: St. Louis JACL Day of Remembrance

February 22: St. Louis JACL Day of Remembrance

February 15: 2026 SAN JOSE DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

February 22: San Fernando Valley Day of Remembrance

February 22: Day of Remembrance: Looking Like the Enemy

February 22: Day of Remembrance Rally to Resist ICE in Portland, Oregon

February 24: Twin Falls - "Education and Freedom at Minidoka: The Diary of Superintendent Arthur Kleinkopf"

Sacramento Japantown Museum Exhibit Project

Reclaim Sacramento Japantown is raising funds for a Fall 2026 exhibit at the Sacramento History Museum at 101 I Street in Old Sacramento. This immersive, multi-room experience brings the lost neighborhood back to life through sound, light, artifacts, and community storytelling.

For generations, Sacramento Japantown was a vibrant cultural and economic center. The physical neighborhood was devastated by forced removal during World War II and later demolished by downtown redevelopment. But the story lives on.

March 7: JACL Monterey Movie Night - Mirai

March 14: Monterey JACL Documentary Screening and Discussion - Fruits of Labor 

March 22: Temari Zushi Cooking Demo with San Diego JACL

March 28: 28th Annual Freedom Walk in Washington, D.C.​​​​​​

2026 AAPIHiP Forum - Call for Proposals! 

FORUM is APIAHiP’s flagship gathering of enthusiasts and professionals dedicated to preserving historic places and cultural resources significant to Asian and Pacific Islander Americans. In 2026, we convene in the neighboring cities of Denver and Aurora, Colorado—communities where local and statewide efforts to Expand the Narrative are reshaping how APIA histories are understood, protected, and uplifted. 

Across the region, participants will explore stories and sites ranging from Denver’s lost Chinatown and the remaining block of Nihonmachi at Sakura Square, to Little Saigon’s Far East Center and Aurora’s Havana Street corridor with Koreatown roots, with opportunities to learn from places beyond the metro area such as Amache National Historic Landmark. Through sessions, workshops, and tours centered on collaboration, FORUM offers space to share strategies, build relationships, and strengthen a more inclusive preservation ethic. 

Join APIAHiP in Colorado as we honor the past, advance community-led stewardship, and affirm that our Emerging Historic Places are truly Centuries in the Making.

2026 Minoru Yasui Student Contest

Suffolk University - Research Study on Experiences of Racism/Discrimination

The REACH (Resilience, Empowerment, Advocacy & Allyship, Cultural Responsiveness, and Healing) Lab at Suffolk University in Boston is currently conducting the WESPOC Study (Wellness, Emotions, and Support among People of Color). This study explores people of color’s experiences with racism and discrimination, sources of support in their lives, and mental health concerns. Individuals may be eligible to participate if they:

• Are 18 years or older

• Can read English

• Identify as a person of color

Participation is completely voluntary, and responses to the study survey are anonymous (full details of data protection included in the informed consent portion of the study survey). We hope this research will help deepen our understanding of wellness and support systems within communities of color, and your organization’s help in reaching community members would be invaluable.

I Am An American - Nisei Soldier Experience Traveling Exhibit Opening in San Francisco February 2026

Registration for the Jerome/Rohwer Pilgrimage is Now Open!

The Jerome Rohwer Pilgrimage allows survivors, descendants, and others to learn about and discuss the legacy and aftermath of WWII era concentration camps in the USA.  One day of the Pilgrimage is a trip to the concentration camp sites in Jerome and Rohwer, with a short program in McGehee, AR, that includes taiko drummers and a short Obon festival to honor the spirits of our ancestors.  There will be two full days of programming in Little Rock, with historical sessions, survivor perspectives, intergenerational and generational discussions, social activities, and opportunities to research family histories.  Learning  and open conversation lead to understanding and healing.  A program summary is linked below.