Weekly Digest
October 9, 2018
Congratulations to Stephanie Nitahara and Kizuna!
Congratulations to Stephanie Nitahara! We look forward to the great work you will do as Executive Director at Kizuna . Stephanie has served in many positions at JACL including interim executive director, associate director, and regional director.

Please read more about Stephanie's new appointment in this Rafu Shimpo article .
Congratulations to Toshiko Hasegawa on her appointment as Executive Director of the Washington State Commission on Asian and Pacific American Affairs
Olympia, WA - Former JACL Seattle Chapter President and current chapter board member Toshiko Hasegawa has been appointed executive director of Washington State Commission on Asian and Pacific American Affairs by Governor Jay Inslee.

JACL Conducts Teacher Training in Idaho Falls
Idaho Falls, ID - Members of the JACL Education committee and Idaho Fall Chapter conducted a teacher training for over 20 teachers in Eastern Idaho.

Teachers spent one day in lectures learning about the Japanese American experience from early immigration to current times and how the incarceration experience applies to current issues. Participants had the opportunity to travel to the Minidoka National Historic Site to place what they had learned in the context of the nearby incarceration site.

Thank you to the JACL Legacy Fund Grant Program for funding this training.
APA Heritage Foundation Honors JACL & OCA
San Francisco, CA - Wednesday, Oct. 3, National JACL and OCA were honored by the APA Heritage Foundation with its APA Heritage Foundation Award for Historical Impact. This event marks the 40th anniversary of the signing of the federal law that authorized the annual celebration of APA Heritage Month in May. The two organizations were honored for their roll in passing of the legislation in 1978.

Accepting on behalf of the National JACL was SF JACL President John Hayashi.  Others in attendance were Japan Consul General Uyama, members of both the SF JACL and Berkeley JACL, and leaders from SF's Japantown community.  

The keynote address was delivered by SF Public Defender Jeff Adachi.

OCA was represented by National President Sharon Wong and CEO Ken Lee.

Pictured top left: Judy Hamaguchi, Patty Wada, John Hayashi and Roji Oyama.
Pictured bottom left : Jeff Adachi (SF Public Defender), Claudine Cheng (president, APA Heritage Foundation), Fiona Ma (Member, State Board of Equalization), John Hayashi (SF JACL President), Carmen Chu (Assessor-Recorder, City & County of SF)
Photos courtesy of Roji Oyama
Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival
Announces Schedule
Philadelphia, PA - The Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival has announced it's 2018 lineup. This year the Festival will " focus on the Music of Asian America and historic legacy of Anti-Asian racial propaganda." The film festival runs from November 8-18. On the final night of the festival, Sunday November 18, will close with a showing of the documentary An American Story: Norman Mineta & His Legacy .

The lineup includes indie folk duo No-No Boy, Korean American singer/songwriter Bobby Choy (aka Big Phony), Cambodian American Rapper praCh Ly, Sikh American Rapper SETI X, Native Hawaiian 9/11 first responder Officer Isaac Ho’opi’i, as well as dozens of filmmakers, musicians, and academics

Check out the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival . Rob Buscher is the festival director and was the 2018 JACL National Convention chair.

There will be JACL Youth / Young Professionals Summit during the first weekend of the Film Festival - November 10-11. For more information contact Takumi Harada at takumikh@gmail.com
Participate in JACL Votes Campaign!

There are many ways that your chapter can participate in JACL Votes! How is your chapter going to get involved?

  1. Make sure all your members are registered!
  2. Use Your Chapter's Social Media to spread awareness and information.
  3. Buy a JACL Votes T-Shirt
  4. Host A Voter Registration Event

JACL National will also be selling JACL Votes merchandise through CafePress, we hope that chapters will purchase or advertise JACL Votes merchandise, especially if holding a voter registration event.This merchandise includes t-shirts, stickers, and other merchandise that can either be given or sold at these events. 
Visit the  ONLINE STORE .


For any questions, please contact Kenzie Hirai via email at  policy@jacl.org .
JACL is Hiring!
JACL National is hiring a new business manager to be placed immediately at the San Francisco headquarters with the possible option of long term placement in Washington, DC.

See HERE for more information about the business manager position.

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