JACL's physical offices remain officially closed. Staff continue to do the work of the organization remotely with some visits to the physical office. Please direct all phone calls to our Washington, D.C. Office at (202) 223-1240 and we will get back to you as quickly as possible. Otherwise, we will all be available via email. All staff emails can be found HERE.
Stay safe everyone and we hope to see you all in person again soon.
- JACL National Staff
JACL joins Members of Congress, Doctors, and Other Civil Rights Orgs Urging End to Title 42 and Restoring Asylum
“The cruelty of the continued Title 42 based expulsions must end. Eighty years ago, it was wrong to use a false security threat to incarcerate 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry and it is wrong today to use a false public health threat to expel people seeking safety and asylum in our country,” said David Inoue of the Japanese American Citizen’s League, (MPH/MHA). “We can choose now to give into racism and xenophobia that supports these harmful policies, or we can show in our actions and policy that we do believe in the ideal of the shining torch of the Statue of Liberty, that we welcome those who yearn to be free.”
"Our League of Dreams - Documentary of the JACL" Fundraiser
JACL National and film producer Lane Nishikawa have agreed to work together to produce the first educational documentary film about the 90-year history of the JACL.
OUR LEAGUE OF DREAMS received a $25,000 Japanese American Community Foundation Grant Award through the assistance of the San Diego Chapter JACL. This will cover the costs of shooting in the first five cities. We need your help to meet our production budget goals. Lane has mapped out seventeen cities that he would like to shoot interviews.
Your individual donation or JACL Chapter donation will go a long way towards helping us achieve our goals. We will make sure that your names are prominently highlighted in the end credits of the film.
Once the film is completed, JACL National and Lane will work with any JACL Chapter that wants to hold a public film screening event in their city to fundraise for their chapter, to educate their youth, and network to new audiences for potential new members.
JACL Concludes 2021 Convention with Unequivocal Support for the Black Lives Matter Movement and in Opposition to Anti-Asian Hate
On Sunday, July 18, the Japanese American Citizens League concluded its 51st national convention with a nearly seven hour deliberative session of its members. Delegates from across the country engaged in thoughtful and respectful discussion on two resolutions which passed with overwhelming majorities.
Resolution One reaffirmed JACL’s commitment to support Black and other communities whose civil rights, liberty, and well-being are denied by white supremacy and systemic racism. It further committed the organization to seek to be actively anti-racist in its actions and policies. The resolution also commits its membership and chapters to work towards the passage of legislation such as the George Floyd justice in Policing Act and the BREATHE Act which remain under consideration by the United States Congress.
The second resolution passed by the National Council in response to the escalating hate crimes and incidents targeting Asian Pacific Americans in the past year, called upon media, elected officials, and community leadership to denounce racial discrimination, white supremacy, and xenophobia that is often at the root of anti-Asian incidents. The resolution affirmed the need for mandatory ethnic studies curriculum in K-12 education as a means to mitigate and prevent future racially motivated violence.
To read the full statement, please click the button below.
JACL Announces Centennial Education Fund Campaign to Raise $3 million
On Friday, July 16, JACL Vice President for Planning and Development and past National President, David Lin, launched the JACL Centennial Education Fund to raise $3 million for JACL. Upon the campaign launch, David Lin stated, “It is my distinct honor and privilege to lead the JACL Centennial Education Fund campaign. We will raise the much-needed funds to sustain the JACL in furthering its mission to educate Americans about the tragic lessons of Japanese American incarceration during World War II, and in envisioning the next 100 years of civil rights in America, so future generations of Americans will be able to live in a more inclusive and more accepting society.”
Former Secretary of Commerce and Transportation and Chair of the Campaign's Honorary Board in formation, Norman Y. Mineta encouraged JACL members attending the virtual Sayonara Gala on Saturday to give to the campaign in order to ensure the future of JACL and re-affirm the commitment to its mission of public education.
To make your contribution to the Centennial Education Fund, go to jacl.org/centennial
JACL Promotes Fellow to new Education and Communications Coordinator Position
JACL is pleased to announce the promotion of Matthew Weisbly to the new Education and Communications Coordinator position. Matthew has served the past two years as the Daniel K. Inouye Fellow. Before his time with JACL Staff he held staff positions and board positions with on campus departments and organizations while attending school at the University of Southern California. As a long time JACL member, Matthew also worked with his local chapter in Arizona as well as the Pacific Southwest District as a whole.
Matthew says: "growing up with the JACL I never expected to one day work here, but these past two years, despite COVID have been some of the most enriching experiences I've ever had. In a weird way its because of COVID though I've been able to continue as a fellow and now as a coordinator for JACL back in a city I love. I can't wait to be able to go out again and work in the community, continuing all the amazing work and getting to use my background as a history major to push for more education on not only Japanese American history but Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander history as a whole."
Matthew will begin his new position this week remotely but will represent the JACL staff in the Pacific Southwest District at an office based in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo alongside the Pacific Citizen Staff.
Berkeley Oral History Project Seeking Project Participants
UC Berkeley's Oral History Project is seeking Nikkei who have had parents/grandparents/great grandparents who have been incarcerated in Manzanar and Topaz concentration camps. How do people heal? Through new oral history interviews, this project will document and disseminate the ways in which intergenerational trauma and healing occurred after the U.S. government's incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. These interviews will examine and compare how private memory, creative expression, place, and public interpretation intersect at two sites of incarceration: Manzanar in California and Topaz in Utah. To nominate yourself or someone else for this project please complete the Nomination Form.
JACL Anti-Hate and Hate Crime Resources
For resources, toolkits, articles, and more about anti-hate programs and hate crimes, you can visit our page on JACL.org by clicking the link below.
There’s a new Special Enrollment Period that allows you to sign up for or change health insurance through August 15, 2021, due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This Special Enrollment Period is available to residents of the 36 states that use HealthCare.gov. (If your state runs its own Marketplace, check their website. Most states are offering similar options to enroll.)
After you fill out and submit your application at HealthCare.gov, you have 30 days to enroll in a plan. Coverage starts the first day of the month after you enroll. For example, if you enroll any time in March, your coverage starts on April 1.
You may qualify to save money — most people do! In fact, 9 out of 10 people who enroll are eligible for savings. Millions more people can find plans for lower premiums due to the COVID relief law. In fact, 4 out of 5 can find a plan for $10 or less after savings.
JACL Young Professionals Caucus -Professional Development Contact List Survey
The Young Professionals Caucus (YPC) is an affinity group within the JACL for self-identifying young professionals and provides a space for sharing experiences, building and deepening relationships, and collective growth through monthly virtual community spaces, innovative inter-chapter programming, and open forums for uplifting advocacy, resources, and encouraging direct action and dialogue.
We would appreciate you completing this survey about your current and past professional and individual experiences. We plan to compile an internal contact list for our members and potential/future members. Your participation in this survey will help YPC develop future programming.
Providing information is voluntary and the information collected will only be used internally within JACL. The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete.
Last Wednesday, April 14, the House Judiciary Committee voted for the first time in the bill's 30 year history to advance H.R. 40 to the House floor for a full vote! This is a monumental step in bill's life and a start towards righting another wrong in our nation's history.
JACL Executive Director, David Inoue, discusses JACL’s support of H.R. 40. H.R. 40 would create a commission to examine the institution of slavery, its legacy, and make recommendations to Congress for reparations, beginning a process of repairing and restoring after centuries of enslavement. Click the image above to watch the full video statement.
