JACL Weekly Digest

March 11, 2025

NOTE: Our JACL Washington, D.C. office has moved! The office is now located at 1025 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste. 600, Washington, D.C. 20036. In case you forget, you can always find JACL office information at the bottom of the digest or on the JACL.org webpage.  

JACL National News

Campaign Legal Center Sues Elon Musk and DOGE for Exercising Unchecked Power and Harming Everyday Americans

March 5, 2025

Washington, DC —  [Last Week], Campaign Legal Center (CLC) — on behalf of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates, the Sierra Club and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) — sued Elon Musk and his so-called U.S. DOGE Service (DOGE) for acting beyond their power to slash federal funding, dismantle federal agencies and fire federal employees.

Decisions regarding how the federal government spends its money lie with Congress. Elon Musk’s unchecked power throughout the federal government is a lawless threat to our democracy.

2025 JACL National Convention

Early Bird Registration is Available Now! Register before April 30 to Save!

Join us this Summer in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from July 17th through 20th for an exciting convention as we celebrate local and national communities coming together with "Voices in Unity!" 

2025 JACL National Scholarships! General and Arts Applications Due April 4!

JACL Chapters News

If any JACL Chapters would like to submit stories or events to the Weekly Digest, please send inquiries to Education Programs Manager, Matthew Weisbly at mweisbly@jacl.org

Mt. Olympus JACL Fund-A-Rama Fundraiser

San Diego JACL Monthly Virtual Dialogue

Oakland Premiere of Kintsukuroi

Announcing the Oakland premiere of the new film, Kintsukuroi, which chronicles the lives of Japanese American families in the Bay Area and the impacts of Executive Order 9066 during World War II that changed the lives of 120,000 people and the landscape of the East Bay and the entire West Coast. A short Q&A and educator curriculum workshop will follow the screening!

Date: Saturday, March 22, 2025

Location: The Oakland Museum Theater, 1000 Oak Street

General Admission: $25 | Tickets at the Door (if available): $30

Schedule:

12:30 pm - Doors open for check-in

1:00 pm - KINTSUKUROI screening begins

3:15 pm - Q&A following the film

3:45 - 4:45 pm - Educator Curriculum Workshop

BUY YOUR TICKETS HERE: https://events.humanitix.com/kintsukuroi-oakland-premiere

27th Annual Freedom Walk in Washington, D.C.

From Our Partners

JAMsj "Letters from the Camps" Exhibit and Special Program on March 29

From JAMsj:

Join us as we celebrate the Letters from the Camp exhibit with a special program that provides deeper insights into the exhibit’s research and translation process. Project members will introduce the lives of the Ono family and their friends during incarceration, using materials that were not included in the exhibit due to space limitations. Additionally, we will share historical documents and artifacts that have surfaced since the exhibit’s launch.

• Date: Saturday, March 29, 2025
• Time: 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM (Exhibit open until 5:00 PM)
• Location: JAMsj, 2nd Floor Activity Room
• Format: Hybrid (In-person & Online via Zoom)
• Language: English (Japanese script available upon request)
• Admission: Free (Donations are welcomed!)
•  Reserve your spot now: RSVP Form (In-person & Zoom)

56th Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage - April 26th, 2025! 

Jerome Rowher Pilgrimage Registration Available Now!

The Jerome Rohwer Committee and the Jerome Rohwer Pilgrimage Planning Committee are thrilled to invite you to register for our upcoming 2025 Jerome Rohwer Pilgrimage in Little Rock, AR, May 21-24, 2025.

The Pilgrimage offers camp survivors, descendants, and others the opportunities to connect with fellow Pilgrims from around the globe.  Last year we had Pilgrims from as far east as Europe, and as far west as Hawaii.  You will learn about and discuss the legacy and aftermath of WWII era concentration camps in the USA.  One day of the Pilgrimage is a journey to each concentration camp site in Jerome and Rohwer, where the sacred Ireichō (a book with names of over 125,000 innocent Japanese and Japanese Americans imprisoned during WWII) will be honored and short services will be held.  We will have lunch in McGehee, AR, home to the WWII Japanese Internment Museum, followed by a program 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, generational and intergenerational discussions, social activities, and opportunities to research family histories and to stamp the sacred Ireichō.  Learning and open conversation leads to understanding and healing.  

50th Amache Pilgrimage Registration Available Now!

This year, the Full Amache Pilgrimage will take place in the Amache area from the evening of Friday May 16 to midday Sunday May 18, with additional events hosted by Amache Alliance, the University of Denver Amache Project, National Parks Conservation Association, Colorado Preservation Inc., and the Sand Creek Massacre Foundation. There will also be events earlier in the week in Denver at the Denver Art Museum and History Colorado Center. PLEASE NOTE: you will need your own transportation to attend these events.

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