Weekly Digest
June 13, 2023

- 2023 JACL National Convention -

Register Now to join us in July! 

Join us for a sunny, lively, and invigorating 53rd JACL Convention, "Rooted in Community", in the heart of L.A.'s Little Tokyo!

Our 2023 theme of “Rooted in Community” perfectly encompasses your cultural immersion into Little Tokyo's community organizations, museums, history, and, of course, food and shopping! We want to continue the momentum from last year's theme, "Strengthening our Community Through Action."

You can also scan the QR Code below to register! 

We're hiring for a new Daniel K. Inouye Fellow!

The fellowships provide the opportunity to work on advocacy at a national level through the National JACL office based in Washington, D.C. As a fellow, you will become a key component of the D.C. team. In this position you will be working with JACL staff, other fellows, and the executive director, collectively working to mobilize and inform local chapters. As part of this D.C. branch of National JACL, fellows are integral in establishing a voice for JACL and its members within D.C and the various networks. This voice is critical when it comes to policy issues that affect our communities and collaborating with other organizations in order to establish a stronger collective voice.

In Wisconsin, there have been increasing incidents reported of local school districts, school board members, school administrators as well as self-declared “parent” and “concerned citizens” groups advocating for and enacting policies which have encouraged increased Anti-Asian sentiment towards Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) students, families, and communities.  Have your JACL chapter members experienced similar circumstances in your local communities?

Please share information about circumstances or incidents of Anti-Asian Sentiment encouraged through your local school districts, school boards, school administrators or parents/community groups - particularly:

• What were the circumstances or incidents involved?;
• How were APIDA students, families or communities affected?;     and
• What could/should JACL chapters and members do to effectively address these situations?      

Please send your responses to Ron Kuramoto, President, JACL-Wisconsin Chapter at rcmkuramoto@att.net by July 5th.  Your responses will be compiled and discussed as part of a workshop co-facilitated by Ron and Mieko Kuramoto on Friday, July 21st at the JACL National Convention in Little Tokyo-Los Angeles.

Thank you and hope to see you in L.A.!
 

Support Typhoon Mawar Relief Efforts

The Micronesia Climate Change Alliance, in partnership with other island-based and national organizations, has compiled a list of donation options in response to the devastation caused by Typhoon Mawar on the island of Guam on May 24th. What started as a category 4 typhoon soon turned into a category 5, damaging entire homes and destroying the island's critical infrastructure. In the days since the storm, families and individuals have begun working toward rebuilding the island; unfortunately, reliable access to water and power continues to remain precarious. Additionally, cyber attacks on banking institutions and delayed deliveries of aid due to the federally enforced Jones Act have only compounded the challenges facing Guam and its neighboring islands.

To learn more, please consider supporting the following set of community-led initiatives: 

1. Micronesia Climate Change Alliance: Direct Donation
2. Onsite Volunteer Form: For those based in Guam and looking to assist in clearing debris or assembling and distributing kits. Lead by Micronesian Climate Change Alliance
3. Island Girl Power (Guam): Direct Donation
4. Restoring & Repairing Sagan Kotturan CHamoru (Community and Cultural Center): Direct Donation
5. Guam Animals In Need (GAIN) by Boonie Flight Project: Direct Donation
6. St. Dominic’s Senior Care Home: Direct Donation
7. The House of Chamorros: Direct Donation
8. Guåhan Sustainable Culture: Food sovereignty and food security in Guåhan
9. Hammoudeh Family: Direct Aid to Family
10. Local Resident Reena Quintanilla: Direct Aid to Family
11. Habibi Catering: Food donation 
12. FEMA: Federal resources (state, local, and national)

* To see the same list, in its Linktreeform, please click the button above.

For questions or concerns, please reach out to:

Bridget Keaveney, JACL Policy Fellow,  at: bkeaveney@jacl.org

JACL Teacher Training Workshop in Sacramento, CA - June 24

Several times in our nation’s history, political leaders have been faced with balancing constitutional rights with issues of national security. These decisions were colored by many factors, including wartime hysteria, misinformation, sensationalized media, and racism. The workshop session will cover the historical background of the Japanese American incarceration during World War II, connections to current events and other communities, and the ongoing lessons of discrimination, civil liberties, and justice.

JACL workshops make explicit the lessons of the WWII Japanese American experience through content that emphasizes the universal issues of identity, community, patriotism, civil rights, and justice that continue to be relevant. Including perspectives from community activists and former incarcerees!

We charge a $25 registration fee to hold limited spaces and decrease no-shows. The value of the workshop lasts a lifetime - especially hearing from WWII camp survivors - plus we offer a $100 gift certificate back for all who attend the whole day.

Complicity and Conscience in America's World War II Concentration Camps for Japanese-Americans

Join Hogan Lovells for a panel discussion with Eric Muller, Professor of Law in Jurisprudence and Ethics at the University of North Carolina School of Law, for a discussion on his latest book, "Lawyer, Jailer, Ally, Foe: Complicity and Conscience in America's World War II Concentration Camps."

The book highlights the contradictory instructions given to lawyers: to provide legal counsel to the prisoners while also keeping the concentration camps running. This struggle leads the lawyers to make difficult moral decisions that reveal the complex nature of their role in upholding the unjust system. As we delve into the stories of these lawyers, we are confronted with the harsh reality of how the legal system and government institutions can be used to perpetrate injustice and systemic racism.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...

JACL Chicago Upcoming Events!

Saturday, June 23, 2023; 2 – 5 PM

Church of Christ Presbyterian | 5846 N. Spaulding Avenue Chicago, IL 60659

We invite you to join us at Culmination to celebrate this year’s Kansha Project with the Kansha Alumni Leadership Board (ALB) and the 2023 program participants! Participants will share reflections of their experience of their trip to Little Tokyo, LA and Manzanar Historic Site and present their unique projects summarizing their experience to the community. 

A Kansha Project Alumni event will follow the Culmination event from 5:30-7:30 at Alarmist Brewing! 

RSVP: Eventbrite – https://kanshaculmination2023.eventbrite.com

Saturday, July 29 & Sunday, July 30th, 2023 | 10am – 4pm both days

Location : Japanese American Service Committee | 4427 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60640

Free with advance registration! | Registration closes at 11:59pm on Friday, June 30th 

Participants will be notified in early July.

Light breakfast and lunch will be provided to participants. 

Registration Link: https://bit.ly/campdaikon2023 

Camp Daikon was created in collaboration by JACL Chicago’s Next Gen Nikkei and Nikkei Uprising. 

Calling all Japanese American & Nikkei Identifying young people (16-29) in the Chicagoland area interested in social justice! Join us for Camp Daikon, a 2 day retreat with workshops on activism and identity. 

For questions, contact Rebecca Ozaki, JACL Chicago Program Director at rebecca@jaclchicago.org or call 773-728-7171. 

National Park Service invites public input on the development of the Amache National Historic Site Foundation Document

From the NPS Amache Study Planning Team, 

The planning team for the Amache National Historic Site Foundation Document would like to thank many of you for your recent participation at the recent public meetings held in California and Colorado. For those who would still like to meet with us, the final public meeting is scheduled for this Saturday (June 10, 2023) in Arvada, Colorado. During the meeting, the NPS will present background information on Amache and the foundation document process, followed by opportunities for the public to ask questions and share thoughts and ideas in an open house setting. Anyone with an interest in Amache's future with the NPS is welcome to attend. 

The meeting location and time can be found on the project website by clicking on ‘Meeting Notices’ on the left-hand menu: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/AMCH_Foundation. For those unable to attend in person, a link to a recorded virtual information session remains available at https://tinyurl.com/Amache-Virtual-Public-Meeting.     

Written comments can be submitted online on the project website (https://parkplanning.nps.gov/AMCH_Foundation) under ‘Open for Comment,’ or postmarked by June 23 and mailed to the address below:    

National Park Service   

Denver Service Center   

Attn: Amache Foundation Document / Charles Lawson   

12795 West Alameda Pkwy   

Denver, CO 80228   

More information about Amache National Historic Site and its transition to NPS management can be found on the park website: https://www.nps.gov/amch.    

2023 60th Anniversary March on Washington 

National Action Network has announced their Not a Commemoration, a Continuation March on Washington, scheduled for August 26th, 2023. The march looks back on the 60 years since the original march back in 1963 and all the achievements and failures that have occurred in the time in between. For more information and to register click the link below to visit the sign-up form from NAN. JACL looks forward to participating in this upcoming march just as we did 60 years ago. 

Help Find a Match for Mama Grannis!

From Kina Grannis: 

Hi! Kina, Emi, and Misa Grannis here. Thanks for coming to help save our mom’s life. Here’s the deal: If you know our family, you know that our mom is an incredibly magical human. If you don’t know our family, trust us when we tell you that she brings light to everything and everyone she touches. Right now, she needs your help.

The short version:

1. Mama G has a bone marrow cancer called myelofibrosis.

2. She needs a blood stem cell donor* as soon as possible to save her life.

3. To see if you are her match, all you have to do is swab your cheeks with DKMS provided swabs.

*Due to our mom’s specific condition, she needs a blood stem cell donor, not a bone marrow donor. It’s a different (and much simpler) donation process. Either way, all that’s required up front are cheek swabs.

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