On Thursday, February 19, 2026, the Sonoma County JACL chapter will gather for a Day of Remembrance with a special community screening of “League of Dreams,” the powerful documentary by filmmaker Lane Nishikawa—who will be with us in person to talk about the film and answer audience questions.

Day of Remembrance is a time to reflect on the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans, honor those who endured it, and recommit ourselves to protecting civil liberties for all. This year’s program connects that history to the story of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) itself—an organization founded in 1929 that has spent generations challenging injustice and expanding the promise of democracy.

As Nishikawa describes the project, “The League of Dreams” chronicles the JACL’s long fight for civil rights—addressing early barriers to immigration and naturalization, leading the decade-long campaign for redress and reparations that culminated in the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, and continuing to stand with communities facing discrimination today. The documentary places JACL’s work in a broader American civil-rights context, reminding us that progress is rarely automatic—and never guaranteed.

Many JACL members first previewed “League of Dreams” at the 2024 JACL National Convention in Philadelphia, where Nishikawa shared his years-long effort to interview more than a hundred people across the country and weave those voices together with archival footage, photographs, and historical headlines. Now, we’re honored to host him locally for an evening of film, reflection, and dialogue—an opportunity to learn, ask questions, and carry forward the lessons of our community’s past into the work of the present.

The event is being co-sponsored by the Asian American Pacific Island Coalition of the North Bay (AAPIC). Asian Student organizations at Sonoma State University and Santa Rosa Junior College are being informed and their members are encouraged to attend.