| JACL Weekly Digest February 20, 2023 |
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| | | |  | February 19, 2024 "Today we recognize Day of Remembrance, where on this day 82 years ago, February 19th, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. Executive Order 9066 led to the mass incarceration of 125,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans from the West Coast and Hawai’i and eventually Japanese Canadians and Japanese Latin Americans in an act of “continental solidarity” in waging the war against Imperial Japan." |
| | | Photos from Smithsonian Day of Remembrance |
|  | | Final Day of Remembrance Events |
|  | As we now look back on the 2024 Day of Remembrance, please continue to look for events that are upcoming in the next week that are still honoring and remembering the history of our community. There are also several programs that have been recorded or reported on, that will be shared as links and articles are prepared. Please look for these when they are available. For a list of Day of Remembrance Events coming up please click the link below! |
| | | 2024 JACL National Scholarship Applications Available Now! |
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| | | | Kansha Project Applications Now Available |
|  | The Kansha Project is a JACL Chicago program founded in 2011 that connects self-identified Japanese Americans, ages 18-25, from the Midwest to their identity, history and community. Participants engage in an in-depth examination of the WWII confinement site experience through an immersive educational trip to Los Angeles’ historic Little Tokyo neighborhood and Manzanar National Historic Site. Through workshops with local experts and community activists, historical tours, and group reflections, participants work to interpret and promote the stories, lessons, and the legacy of the Japanese American confinement site experience. Applications are due by 11:59pm CST on Feb 29th, 2024. For individuals over the age 25: We are in the process of planning Kansha, Too!, an adapted version of the Kansha Project for individuals and families of ALL AGES for Fall 2024. The official dates will be announced soon. |
| | Seattle JACL Scholarship Applications Now Available! |
|  | | | JACL Arizona Chapter Annual Essay Contest! |
|  | | | 2024 JACL Chicago Chapter Scholarships Available Now! |
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| | | | Day of Remembrance Statements from President Biden and CAPAC |
|  | From President Biden: "On this day in 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which led to the forcible incarceration of over 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent – half of whom were children. It was shameful. Families were separated. Communities were torn apart. People were stripped of their dignity. And the unconstitutional and unconscionable policy was even upheld by the Supreme Court." |
| | From CAPAC Chair Judy Chu: “Eighty-two years ago, in an unfounded and blatant violation of Americans’ civil rights, President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 incarcerated more than 120,000 Japanese Americans – most of whom were citizens and half of whom were children. For no reason other than xenophobia, so many families lost their homes, businesses, savings, and livelihoods. That is why over three decades ago, CAPAC co-founder Norman Mineta introduced and successfully led the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, under which Congress formally apologized and provided redress to Japanese Americans wrongly incarcerated during World War II. Disturbingly, however, the same hysteria that led to the racial targeting and stripping of property ownership rights from Japanese Americans has reemerged today in federal and state-level measures that aim to limit the civil rights of our communities. This uptick in shameful, anti-Asian fearmongering and discrimination is why now, more than ever, we must speak up in the face of injustice and ensure that we do not repeat the mistakes of our past. As we observe this Day of Remembrance, we must stand together and recommit to safeguard the civil rights of all Americans.” |
| | | Our Fragile Democracy with California AG Rob Bonta at JANM |
|  | | | Book Breaks with Bruce Henderson - Bridge to the Sun |
|  | We invite you to join us for Book Breaks on Sunday, February 25, at 2 pm ET. Bruce Henderson will discuss his book Bridge to the Sun: The Secret Role of the Japanese Americans Who Fought in the Pacific in World War II, winner of the 2022 Gilder Lehrman Military History Prize. After Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the US military was desperate to find Americans who spoke Japanese to serve in the Pacific war. They soon turned to the Nisei—first-generation US citizens whose parents were emigrants from Japan. Eager to prove their loyalty to America, several thousand Nisei—many of them volunteering from the internment camps where they were being held behind barbed wire—were selected by the Army for top-secret training, then were rushed to the Pacific theater. They served as translators and interrogators. After the war, many of these Nisei played critical roles in war crime trials and helped rebuild Japan as a modern democracy and a pivotal US ally. Bruce Henderson is the author of more than twenty books including the New York Times best seller And the Sea Will Tell (with Vincent Bugliosi). |
| | | KAKEHASHI Online Talk Program (Bandai Namco Toys & Collectibles America Inc.) |
|  | | Hi KAKEHASHI Alumni,
We are holding an exclusive online alumni event on Wednesday, February 21 at 7:30pm EST (9:30am JST on February 22 in Japan) with BANDAI Namco Toys & Collectibles America Inc.
We hope many Kakehashi alumni can join us for the event!
Please check the details and register for the event via the link below. | JICE will send you a ZOOM link by the day before the event.
Please make sure that you can receive relevant emails from JICE (@jice.org) since emails including a URL could be recognized as spam mails. | | |
| | | Jerome/Rohwer Pilgrimage Fundraiser! |
|  | The Jerome/Rohwer Pilgrimage Committee is currently working with Japanese American Memorial Pilgrimages (JAMP) to make the Jerome/Rohwer Pilgrimage — scheduled for June 5-8, 2024, in Arkansas — an amazing and successful community focused event. We need your help. While registration fees and grants cover part of the cost of the pilgrimage (bus transport, meals, and programming), we still need additional funds to ensure that we can provide a positive and accessible experience to our full community. This includes such important elements like making presentations and intergenerational conversations available via a virtual / online experience, as well as providing scholarships for elders. Whether you are a first-timer or returning, we encourage you to donate to the Jerome/Rohwer Pilgrimage. Your donations will build and enhance the Jerome/Rohwer Pilgrimage — this year and beyond. Contributions to the Jerome/Rohwer Pilgrimage fundraiser will help with three goals: 1. Help finance and improve this year's pilgrimage, including the establishment of an organized group to take the lead in the planning and execution of future annual pilgrimages, as well as the preservation of the two sites. 2. Honor Jerome and Rohwer family members, including tributes and recognition of loved ones who were incarcerated at Jerome and Rohwer. 3. Develop programs to preserve and share the Jerome/Rohwer story, including panel discussions with Jerome/Rohwer survivors and cultivating partnerships with other Japanese American and community groups with ties to Jerome and Rohwer. All donations to the Jerome/Rohwer Pilgrimage Fundraiser will be used to support and successfully run the Jerome/Rohwer Pilgrimage. Thank you for your generosity! The Jerome/Rohwer Pilgrimage Committee (The group photo above was taken at the 2023 Jerome/Rohwer Pilgrimage, credit: Dean K. Terasaki) |
| | | Defining Courage Coming to San Francisco! |
|  | | | The 2024 Minoru Yasui Student Contest is open for submissions! |
|  | This year's contest theme is advancing democracy and prompts students to think about what an ideal democracy looks like, challenges to achieving democracy, and how to overcome them. Contestants will express their answers through a visual art piece and artist statement. The contest has a Junior Division (5th-8th grade) offering a $500 grand prize and Senior Division (9th-12th grade) offering a $1,000 grand prize. To view the full details of the contest, and submit your entry, visit the Minoru Yasui Student Contest webpage. Submissions must be completed and uploaded by 11:59pm PT on Friday, March 1, 2024. Organized by the Minoru Yasui Legacy Project and the Japanese American Museum of Oregon, the Minoru Yasui Student Contest offers students the opportunity to explore societal topics in connection with the legacy of Minoru Yasui, the only Oregonian to have been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. |
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(415) 921-5225 | mbr@jacl.org |
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