 | | Weekly Digest
February 21, 2023 |
| | |  | February 17, 2023 This Sunday, February 19, 2023, marks the 81st anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, resulting in the mass incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese Americans. Similarly, thousands of Japanese Latin Americans and Japanese Canadians were incarcerated en masse in their own countries or, in some cases, were kidnapped to the United States against their will to serve as “prisoners of war.” As we look back and mourn one of the darkest moments of our community’s and nation’s history, we also celebrate the many triumphs as well. |
| | | Day of Remembrance Reflections |
| Statement from the White House of Day of Remembrance |
|  | "When President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, eighty-one years ago today, it ushered in one of the most shameful periods in American history. The wrongful incarceration of 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent tore families apart. Men, women, and children were forced to abandon their homes, their jobs, their communities, their businesses, and their way of life. They were sent to inhumane concentration camps simply because of their heritage. And in a tragic miscarriage of justice, the Supreme Court upheld these immoral and unconstitutional policies." |
| | |  | The Ireichō at JANM was featured across several different news stories over the weekend, you can view the varying coverage through the links below. |
| | | | | | |  | Caption: Maru Mora Villalpando, La Resistencia Founder and community activist, holds up a laptop live-streaming with people on hunger strike detained inside the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington during the Remember + Resist 2023 Day of Remembrance. (Photo by Seattle JACL / Theo Bickel) On Saturday, February 18, hundreds joined the multi-site Day of Remembrance event 'Remember + Resist'. Co-organized between Seattle JACL, Puyallup Valley JACL, Tsuru for Solidarity, La Resistencia, and Minidoka Pilgrimage, the day began with a remembrance ceremony at the location of the Puyallup Assembly Center. Speakers, performers, and organizers reflected on the legacy of incarceration and the campaign to build a permanent Remembrance Gallery at that very site. Then, nearly a hundred attendees traveled to protest in front of the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington - the largest ICE immigration prison in the Pacific Northwest. Detainees live-streamed to speak with protestors to share the poor sanitation, bad food, inadequate health care, and cruel dehumanization they experience inside this contemporary U.S. concentration camp. Seattle JACL leadership and its members reflect that #NeverAgainIsNow and that our mission is to stand in solidarity with fellow communities of color targeted by racist, inhumane immigration policies. |
| |  | Text from Julie Abo, photo courtesy of Bridget Keaveney, Washington, D.C. JACL Thank you Noriko Sanefuji and the National Museum of American History for a heartful Day of Remembrance tribute to Dr. Odo and Secretary Norman Y. Mineta with the incredible Nobuko Miyamoto whose song story enveloped us in the incarceration experience and life thereafter from someone who lived it. Thank you WHIAANHPI, the Japanese Embassy DC, Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, JACL National, NJAMF, The 1882 Foundation, and Anthea Hartig. |
| Day of Remembrance Events |
|  | As we come to the end of February, there are still several Day of Remembrance Events that are upcoming. Please visit the link below to find more information about these upcoming events and check others to see if they have recordings available. If there is still an outstanding event that has not been listed, 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. Send any program information you have to Education and Communications Coordinator, Matthew Weisbly at mweisbly@jacl.org |
| | | JACL Joins Rev. Turner in Presidents Day March to Call for Presidential Commission on HR40 |
|  | Yesterday, February 20th, Presidents Day, Reverand Dr. Robert Turner, Senior Pastor of Empowerment Temple AME Church walked 40 miles from his church in Baltimore to the White House. The purpose of the “40 for 40 Walk” is to call attention to the long history of failure by the U.S. government to grant reparations for the enslavement of African Americans, and post-emancipation racially exclusionary policies. David Inoue, JACL Executive Director said: "Our experience as a Japanese American community is that the government has the capacity to commit great injustice against a group of people, but it also has the ability to apologize and provide reparation. We will be bringing over 1,000 origami cranes on behalf of our community with the wish that just as a commission was established to determine the wrongs inflicted upon the Japanese American community during WWII, that the President will act to establish a similar commission in alignment with the HR 40 legislation proposed by Representative Sheila Jackson Lee to discern a path towards national healing" |
| | 2023 JACL National Scholarship Freshman Applications due March 6! |
|  | 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." Following previous years, the application forms for the scholarship program will be completely online. Freshman applications must be submitted directly by the applicant to National JACL through the online form no later than March 6, 2023, 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 April 3, 2023, 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 2023 in order 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. |
| | | | San Diego JACL March Monthly Community Dialogue |
|  | | | Rebuild Manzanar's Baseball Field |
|  | Manzanar National Historic Site preserves and tells the stories of Japanese-American incarceration during World War II. Visitors to the park come across a simple sign saying "baseball fields" in front of an expanse of dirt and scraps of chicken wire once used as back stops. This is a huge missed opportunity because the story of baseball at Manzanar is one of its most deeply touching. Japanese Americans, labelled "enemies of the state," continued to enjoy the everyday American game of baseball. This speaks loudly of their resilience and the injustice of their incarceration. Over 120 baseball and softball teams divided into twelve leagues played year-round within the bleak and dehumanizing camp.
A grant from The Fund for People in Parks to rebuild the baseball field, complete with bleachers and announcer's booth, will enable the park to offer visitors a powerful image of life at Manzanar. An educational display on the site will add context. The area will be archaeologically excavated during the work, possibly uncovering new objects. No grass will be planted, keeping this a dirt field, as it always was. Ceremonial games will be played on occasion, allowing for reconciliation and remembrance. The project is only $1,200 off of its goal! Help the project team reach its goal! |
| | | | |  | | | Atsuhiko Tateuchi Memorial Scholarship - Vocational and Trade Program |
|  | Ina Goodwin Tateuchi and her late husband, Atsuhiko Tateuchi, both came from hard-working families and were taught to appreciate and respect education. They wish to provide $5000 scholarships for students who are residents of the Pacific Rim states (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington) who demonstrate hard work, dedication and sincerity. Students must have financial need and be of Japanese or other Asian ancestry, including multi-ethnic Asians. This program is for students pursuing a vocational or trade degree or certification (e.g. auto mechanics, carpentry, nursing, plumbing, electrician, manufacturing, HVAC, etc.). This scholarship will be renewable for up to four years. Note: this program is not intended for students pursuing an Associates degree who intend to transition to a 4-year college (please see the Atsuhiko Tateuchi Memorial Scholarship – College or Graduate Program) |
| | | Fundraiser for Japanese Grocery Store After Shooting |
|  | Tokyo Foods Grocery store has been one of the few local Japanese stores in Cincinnati for the last 35 years. Owners Tozan (93) and Kimiko (78) Matsuda have run the store by themselves for over three decades providing fresh and unique Japanese groceries to Greater Cincinnati. On Sunday evening January 22nd, a man fired at least a dozen rounds from a handgun into the front windows of Tokyo Foods. He did not know the owners, and thankfully Mr. & Mrs. Matsuda were unharmed as the store was closed. The man's reason for shooting into the store was because he claimed he was the "President of Tokyo" and that Tokyo Foods was "not in compliance". The man was arrested and in custody for multiple felonious charges. All funds will be given to Mr. & Mrs. Matsuda to repair damages, pay rent & insurance, and provide savings to assist in day-to-day living expenses. |
| | | | APPLY FOR THE 2023 KANSHA PROJECT! |
|  | Kansha Project Trip
– Wednesday, June 7: Pre-departure orientation
– Thursday, June 8 – Sunday, June 11: Little Tokyo Trip
– Sunday, June 25: Culmination 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. |
| | | Call to Action: Protect Minidoka National Historic Site! |
|  | From Friends of Minidoka: The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed Lava Ridge Wind Project in south-central Idaho was released by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on January 17, 2023, and sent to the EPA for approval. It was published in the Federal Register on January 20. The public comment period started Friday, January 20, and will end at 11:59 pm MDT on March 21, 2023. For more information about the Lava Ridge proposal, see additional posts on the Friends of Minidoka site linked below. |
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1765 Sutter Street
San Francisco, California 94115
(415) 921-5225 | mbr@jacl.org |
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JACL DC Office
1629 K Street NW, Suite 400
Washington, D.C. 20006
(202) 223-1240 | policy@jacl.org |
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