2010 Convention Business

With the 2010 JACL National Convention comes the election of a new National JACL Board of Directors, all of whom will serve a two-year term. Candidates interested in running for the 2010 JACL National Board must file their nominations forms by Friday, April 2, 2010.
Click here for a copy of the 2010 Nominations Guidelines. Click here for the Candidate Application.

JACL Response to the Texas Board of Education

March 19, 2010

In response to the Texas Board of Education action to amend its curriculum to include information on the World War II detention of Germans and Italians by the United States, the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) believes it is vitally important to clarify the record about the significant differences between the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II and the treatment of German and Italian Americans.

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JACL Responds to Sen. Graham's "Sake and Suicide" Comments

March 18, 2010

Washington, D.C. -- In an interview for a South Carolina radio station, Senator Graham suggested that the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi had the House Democrats “all liquored up on sake” to make a “suicide run” to pass health care legislation. The JACL has issued a statement urging Sen. Graham to refrain from using such inflammatory rhetoric in the future.

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JACL Issues Statement on National Broadband Plan

March 18, 2010

Washington, D.C. -- In February of 2009, as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Congress tasked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with the creation of a National Broadband Plan.  Today, the JACL was pleased to see the completion of this Plan after a year of hard work and dedication by the Commission.

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JACL Announces Collegiate Washington, DC Leadership Program

March 17, 2010

The JACL is now accepting applications for its second annual Collegiate Washington, D.C. Leadership Conference to be held on June 10-13, 2010.  The three-day program is designed to give Asian American student leaders an inside glimpse of national policy-making arena in Washington, DC. 

Click here to read more. Click here for a conference description. Click here for the application.

JACL Connects with College Students

March 12, 2010

Chicago, IL -- Over the past two weekends, JACL staff presented workshops at two major college conferences on the East Coast. On February 27, Bill Yoshino and JACL Ford Program Fellow Christine Munteanu led a workshop on “Anti-Asian Sentiment” at the 5 College Pan Asian Network Conference at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Yoshino and Patty Wada presented the same workshop at the East Coast Asian American Student Union Conference (ECAASU) at the University of Pennsylvania the following weekend on March 6.

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JACL and OCA Leadership Conference Held in D.C.

March 11, 2010

Washington, D.C. -- The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) and OCA National (OCA), the two largest Asian American civil and human rights organizations in the nation, held their annual joint Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. this week.  Participants were JACL and OCA leaders from across the United States who met to learn about leadership skills and the legislative process in the nation’s capital.  The conference is sponsored by State Farm.  Leslie Moe-Kaiser and Art Ruiz of State Farm were in attendance and made presentations.

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JACL Announces New District Governors

March 4, 2010

Washington, D.C. -- The JACL announces the following new governors:  Toshi Abe of the Eastern District Council (EDC); Sharon Ishii Jordan of the Midwest District Council (MDC); Chip Larouche of the Pacific Northwest District Council (PNW); and Kerry Kaneichi of the Pacific Southwest District Council (PSW) in California.  They are replacing outgoing governors, Kristine Minami (EDC), Leilani Savitt (MDC), Elaine Akagi (PNW), and Alayne Yonemoto (PSW).

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JACL Announces Active Choice Health Plan

March 3, 2010

San Francisco, CA -- The JACL Active Choice health insurance plan, an affordable option created specifically to fit the needs of students and young professionals ages 18-29, includes: prescription coverage, medical coverage, accidental death coverage, national coverage, worldwide coverage, and personalized service.

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National JACL Board Appoints David Lin as V.P.

February 24, 2010

Washington, D.C. -- The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), the nation’s oldest and largest Asian American civil and human rights organization, announces that David Lin has been appointed to the JACL National Board of Directors as Vice President of Membership.  David is a life member of the JACL and a Millennium Club member.  He has worked closely with the JACL in developing a strong corporate partnership with AT&T. 

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JACL Accepting Masaoka Fellowship Applications

March 5, 2010

Washington, D.C. -- The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) is currently accepting applications from candidates who are interested in the Mike M. Masaoka Fellowship, which is a JACL program where a student learns first hand about public policy.  The Masaoka fellow serves in the Washington, D.C. office of a U.S. Senator or a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.  

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JACL Troubled by "Compton Cookout"

March 3, 2010

Chicago, IL -- The JACL responded with outrage at recent events at UCSD that began when students organized a "Compton Cookout" party to mock Black History Month.  The JACL has enumerated a series of steps the university must take to address racial tensions at the school, including the need to "engage the student community in a series of diversity efforts calculated to engender multiracial understanding and cohesion."

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JACL Responds to Today Show's "Japadog" feature

March 2, 2010

Chicago, IL -- The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) sent a letter to Jim Bell, the Executive Producer of the "Today" show, after receiving several complaints about a segment highlighting a Vancouver hot dog stand called "Japadog."

Click here to read the letter.

JACL Applauds Nomination of Goodwin H. Liu

February 24, 2010

Washington, D.C. -- The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), the nation's oldest and largest Asian American civil and human rights organization, is pleased with President Barack Obama's nomination of University of California Berkeley School of Law Associate Dean and Professor Goodwin H. Liu's nomination to serve on the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

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Camp Preservation Projects Included in 2011 Budget

February 17, 2010

Washington, D.C. -- The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), the nation's oldest and largest Asian American civil and human rights organization, has been advocating for camp preservation projects which would help to teach the public about the incarceration of Japanese Americans in internment camps during World War II. In addition to the $3 million for camp grants funding, the President's FY 2011 budget includes a number of other funding initiatives which are of particular interest to the JACL and the Japanese American community. 

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Jack Tobe Joins the DC JACL Chapter Board

February 15, 2010

Washington, D.C. -- Attendees at the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) DC Chapter Mochitsuki event in December 2009 were greeted warmly by an impressive young teenager who was very attentive and helpful.  Jack Tobe, at thirteen years of age, has lots of experience with service and has just become the youngest member of the Board of the DC Chapter of the JACL.  He was installed at the Chapter Installation Luncheon in January 2010. 

Click here to read more.

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