Asian America Across the Disciplines Series and the JACL Philadelphia presents Mas Nakawatase, Japanese American civil rights organizer, educator, and advocate for peace and justice.

Hosted by ASAM Lecturer Rob Buscher in his course Asian American Activism.

Mas Nakawatase was born in one of the ten War Relocation Authority concentration camps where the US government detained people of Japanese descent during World War II. He grew up in Seabrook, New Jersey among many families who had been detained. In the mid-1960s, Mas had a formative political experience working in Atlanta for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. 

Mas returned to rural South Jersey as a community organizer with American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), which launched his 31-year career at AFSC. His work there focused on supporting Native peoples and advancing Asian American voices and priorities. Within AFSC, Mas helped establish a caucus for staff of color and supported a successful unionization campaign. 

Mas has served on the board of Asian Americans United since 2002 and served on the board of Folk Arts-Cultural Treasures Charter School for twelve years. Since 2010, he has chaired the Racial and Social Justice Committee of Germantown Friends Meeting. In 2021, Mas began serving on the board of Seabrook Educational and Cultural Center. Recipient of the Paul Robeson Lifetime Achievement Award 2024.

Please RSVP in advance here!

Salt Lake JACL presents an Advanced Origami Workshop with artist Judy Iwamoto. Part of the 2026 Traditional Japanese Arts & Culture Workshops, sponsored by the Salt Lake City Arts Council.

Space is limited, so you must RSVP

Salt Lake JACL members get priority registration and free entry

Please join Oregon Tsuru for Solidarity and the Portland Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) on Sunday, February 22, 2026 for a Day of Remembrance Rally to Resist ICE. The Day of Remembrance marks President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942 which authorized the U.S. military to forcibly remove and incarcerate 125,000+ immigrants and U.S. citizens of Japanese descent during World War II.

As Japanese Americans, we understand the immediate and long lasting impacts of family separation and mass incarceration inflicted by the U.S. government. Right now, as ICE terrorizes our immigrant neighbors, it is more important than ever that we stand up and speak out to call for the end of ICE detention and deportations. We aim to be the allies that we did not have in 1942, and we will not stand idly by while immigrants are once again targeted.

We will gather at Elizabeth Caruthers Park at 2:00pm for a rally featuring Portland Taiko, a candlelight ceremony, and speakers including Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition, Together Lab, and survivors and descendants of WWII incarceration. We will then walk four blocks to the Portland ICE facility (4310 S Macadam Ave), where we will hold a peaceful vigil.

This year’s SFV Day of Remembrance will be on Sunday, February 22nd from 1pm-4pm at the San Fernando Valley Japanese American Community Center. We are looking forward to hearing from Dan Kwong and learning more about various aspects of baseball in camp.

Full Spectrum Features’ latest short docudrama, Enough, will be featured at Chicago’s Day of Remembrance 2026, an annual gathering that marks the signing of Executive Order 9066 and honors the many generations shaped by Japanese American incarceration. Rooted in the decades-long history of the Japanese American Redress Movement—from the lead-up to the 1981 Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) hearings through the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988—the film turns to community memory and testimony to ask what it takes to confront harm honestly and pursue repair over time.

Following the screening, a panel of community members and practitioners will reflect on how the legacies of Redress speak to present-day struggles around state violence, surveillance, and displacement. Panelists include Rebecca Ozaki (Yonsei, granddaughter of a CWRIC testifier), Mary Samson (Sansei, Redress organizer), Dr. Britt Dantley (family therapist and clinician), Brian Tee (director and actor), and Scott Sakiyama (attorney and anti-ICE advocate). Together, they will consider how practices of storytelling, accountability, and care can interrupt repeating patterns of removal and state violence—both within families and across communities.

The program invites attendees to think with the panel about what “enough” looks like when it comes to justice: How do we honor the labor of those who fought for Redress while recognizing what remains unfinished? How can we speak with urgency about current harms without losing sight of the slow work of healing across generations? A guided discussion will offer space for reflection, questions, and shared commitments to ongoing community care.

This program is free and open to the public. Due to limited seating, advanced registration is highly encouraged.

This event is sponsored by Full Spectrum Features, Chicago Japanese American Council, Japanese American Citizens League – Chicago Chapter,  Chicago Japanese American Historical Society, Japanese Mutual Aid Society of Chicago, and Japanese American Service Committee.

On Feb. 22 at the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum, St Louis Chapter JACL will host a Day of Remembrance recognizing the impact that Executive Order 9066 had on Japanese and Japanese Americans in the U.S. during WWII. 

For members and guests, Washington University faculty Dr. Heidi Aronson Kolk and Dr. Kelley Van Dyke Murphy and students will discuss "Dislocated: Memory, Forgetting and the Landscapes of Japanese American Incarceration," an intensive class that traveled to Manzanar. Students who visited Manzanar created art exhibits that will be on display after the discussion.

The featured speaker will be Tracy Slater, author of "Together in Manzanar" about a Japanese Jewish family who fought to stay together during the war. Slater will discuss and answer questions about her book.

The chapter will provide members and their guests with a bento lunch.

In addition, the traveling art exhibit "Resilience: A Sansei Sense of Legacy" will be available to view through April 4. The exhibit includes an interactive component for visitors. Tags that attach to a wire fence are available to write personal messages about legacy.

This program is co-sponsored by The St. Louis Japanese American Citizens League, the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum and the Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis.

 The Sutter County Museum, in conjunction with Marysville Chapter JACL, will host a special Day of Remembrance program on Saturday, February 21, 2026, offering the public a rare opportunity to hear firsthand stories and expert insights about one of the most complex chapters of Japanese American history. Titled “Tule Lake: An Inside Look,” the event will run from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Etti Hall, located at 1333 Butte House Road, Yuba City.

The program brings together a distinguished panel of speakers whose work and lived experiences illuminate the legacy of the Tule Lake Segregation Center—one of the most controversial sites within the World War II incarceration system.

Featured speakers include:

• Jim Tanimoto, Last survivor of the Block 42 Resisters.

• Wayne Collins, representing the legacy of his father civil rights attorney Wayne M. Collins, known for defending the rights of Japanese Americans labeled “disloyal.”

• Jan Morrill, award-winning author of The Red Kimono will talk of her mother’s experience at Tule Lake.

• Helen Hannan Parra, author of Two Days and One Suitcase will read excerpts of a first-hand account, written March 20, 1946, giving us a never before made public look, at the last day of Tule Lake.

• Judge Johnny Cepeda Gogo and his 48-Star Flag Project.

• Yukio Kawaratani, via video recorded especially for this DOR, will tell how his father and two brothers were sent to DOJ detention centers in North Dakota and Texas while he was left with his mother and three sisters in Tule Lake and three of his brothers were serving in the Army.

• The program will be hosted by David Kiyoshi Tom, creator of Kintsukuroi and Closed Mondays, whose work explores memory, identity, and the Japanese American experience.

The Puyallup Valley JACL’s Day of Remembrance event is Saturday, Feb 21st at the Expo Hall on the Washington State Fairgrounds from 10am – 12pm with doors opening at 9:45am.

The Day of Remembrance is a way to acknowledge and honor the over 125,000 people of Japanese descent who were incarcerated during World War II.

Event Details

• Time - Doors open at 9:45am, Program Starts at 10:00am and ends around 12:00pm.

• Parking – Free parking is available in the Washington State Fair’s Gold Parking Lot, 350 7th Ave SE, Puyallup

• Free admission is at the Gold Gate, corner of S. Meridian & 9th Ave SW. Volunteers will guide you from the Gold parking lot through the Gold Gate entrance into the Expo Hall.

Program

This year’s program will include five sessions, featuring a fireside chat with survivors Hana Konishi and Paul Tomita; a reading by author Tamiko Nimura from her new book, A Place for What We Lose: A Daughter’s Return To Tule Lake; a display of paintings by artist Chris Hopkins that explore the incarceration experience; and updates from Tsuru for Solidarity by Stan Shikuma and his team on actions needed to support immigrant and refugee communities currently being targeted; guests will also be able to visit the Remembrance Gallery, led by Gallery docents.

Meet the Author: Jan Morrill — February 20

As a prelude to the main program, the public is invited to meet Jan Morrill award-winning author of The Red Kimono and Masako’s Red Kimono on Friday, February 20, 2026, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Sutter County Library, 750 Forbes Avenue, Yuba City. Morrill will discuss her novels, which explore themes of identity, resilience, and the Japanese American wartime experience.

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. 

Join us at the National Museum of American History for a screening and panel discussion on the 2026 Day of Remembrance.

Film and Conversation: Removed by Force: Day of Remembrance 2026

Thursday, February 19, 2026, at 7:00 p.m.

1 Center: Warner Bros. Theater

Join us at the National Museum of American History for a screening and panel discussion on the 2026 Day of Remembrance. Removed by Force: The Eviction of Hawaiʻi’s Japanese Americans During World War II sheds light on the relatively unknown experiences of the 1,500 Americans of Japanese ancestry (AJA) from 23 geographic areas in Hawaiʻi who were evicted, but not interned, during World War II.

February 19, 2026, marks the 84th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that led to the wrongful incarceration of 125,000 Japanese Americans during World War II.

After the screening, join us for a panel discussion featuring:

William Kaneko, former president, Honolulu Japanese American Citizens League; co-executive producer, Removed by Force. Kaneko coordinated the legal cases for the Hawaiʻi AJAs evicted from their homes.

Ryan Kawamoto, director and co-executive producer, Removed by Force. Kawamoto is an award-winning film director who has created several documentaries on the Hawaiʻi AJA incarceration experience.

Robert Bratt, former head of Redress, United States Department of Justice. Bratt was the lead DOJ administrator in charge of the Japanese American redress program.

Moderator: Lisa Sasaki, Deputy Under Secretary for Special Projects, Smithsonian Institution.

The National Museum of American History welcomes visitors of all ages and abilities. This event is wheelchair accessible. Captioning and assistive listening devices will be provided. Additional accommodations are available upon request; please email nmahprograms@si.edu. Two weeks’ notice is preferred.

Seating is limited and reservations are recommended. Seating will be opened first to Eventbrite-registered attendees and then to walk-in visitors. When we reach maximum capacity, the event will be closed to the public.

February 19: Day of Remembrance Vigil at Broadview ICE Facility

Thursday, February 19, 2026, 12PM-1PM | Broadview ICE Facility (1930 Beach St, Broadview IL 60155)

Sign-Making Party: Wednesday, February 18, 5PM-8PM | JACL Chicago (5415 N Clark St, Chicago IL 60640)

Each year, on February 19, the Japanese American community reflects upon the consequences of Executive Order 9066 across our generations. Join JACL Chicago and Nikkei Uprising as we stand vigil at the Broadview ICE Facility in solidarity with our neighbors detained and murdered. Never Again is Now!

Everyone is invite to join the CIC and JACL for Day of Remembrance. We will have a panel discussion and community conversation reflecting on Executive Order 9066, how history can repeat itself, and how members of the Japanese American Citizens League are leading the way locally with the Neighbors Not Enemies Act.

Please join the Portland Japanese American Citizens League, the Japanese American Museum of Oregon, and the Portland'5 Centers for the Arts Department of Culture and Community, on February 16, 2026 to commemorate the Day of Remembrance with a special 50th Anniversary film screening of Farewell to Manzanar and panel discussion with Gabrielle Houston Neville, Carole Hayashino, and Frank Abe, moderated by Hanako Wakatsuki-Chong. There will be two screenings: a matinee starting at 2 pm and an evening show at 6:30 pm.

Farewell to Manzanar holds profound importance for Japanese Americans as the first major film adaptation to portray the wartime incarceration camps. Based on Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston's memoir, the film gave voice to over 120,000 Japanese Americans who were forcibly removed from their homes and detained during World War II. For many survivors and their descendants, this film represented the first time their families' experiences were validated and shared with mainstream America.

The film's widespread television broadcast educated millions of Americans about this constitutional violation, helping create the political and social climate that made the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 possible. This landmark legislation provided formal apologies and monetary reparations to surviving Japanese American incarcerees. The cultural impact of Farewell to Manzanar cannot be separated from the successful redress campaign that followed.

Northern California Time of Remembrance (NCTOR) 2026

Presented by Florin, Lodi, Placer County and Sacramento JACL Chapters

Preserving History

Saturday, February 14, 2026, 1:00-3:00 P.M.
California Museum: 1020 O St. Sacramento, CA 95814

During a time when our country questions the value of history, what supports a country’s democracy is not only its accomplishments and achievements, but its willingness to acknowledge, apologize, and correct its mistakes both current and past. Please join us to learn and be inspired by the work of Densho and the Ireichō Project to preserve history.

Naomi Ostwald Kawamura is the Executive Director of Densho [www.densho.org], a Seattle-based nonprofit and digital archive that preserves and shares the history of Japanese American wartime incarceration to promote equity and justice today. She holds a Ph.D. in Education from the University of British Columbia, where she teaches a course in museum practice. Her work with Japanese American and Japanese Canadian communities brings a comparative perspective to remembrance, redress, and reconciliation. Her current work examines how digital preservation and storytelling can confront historical erasure and strengthen democratic participation in an age of misinformation.

Duncan Ryuken Williams is the founder of the Ireichō Project [https://www.janm.org/exhibits/ireicho], the Alton Brooks Professor of Religion, and Director of the Shinso Ito Center for Japanese Religions and Culture at the University of Southern California. He has been ordained since 1993 as a Buddhist priest in the Soto Zen tradition. He served as the Buddhist chaplain at Harvard University where he received his Ph.D. His most recent project is the building of the Irei Names Monument, a memorial to honor those of Japanese ancestry who were incarcerated in America’s internment and concentration camps during WWII.

Admission Prices

$15 General admission

Free admission for college students

Free for children 18 and under

This is the first event being hosted by our newly-formed Intermountain District Council Youth Board, and we’re so excited to meet some of you! Come meet others in the community, knock down some pins, and learn how to get involved!

Come to…
* Meet JACL youth
* Learn about membership
* Build community 🤝
* Have fun!

This event will be free for those who sign up. Though, please note that this event is catered those who are interested in joining and/or being more involved in JACL!

* RSVP by Sunday, January 29th if possible!
* If after January 29th, reach out to us and we can see if we have space!

Please join us as we celebrate 2026 and the installation of our SELANOCO-OC JACL officers! We are excited to announce that our guest speaker will be Al Muratsuchi, Assemblymember (District 66). He will be speaking with us about his life and career.

Date: Saturday, January 31, 2016

Check-in Time: 9:30 am (Program starts at 10:00 am)

Location: Norma Hertzog Community Center - Costa Mesa Room (1845 Park Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92627)

Parking: Free onsite

Cost: $35 per person

If you are not able to attend, but would like to sponsor a UCI Tomo No Kai or Chapman NSU student, please consider donating $35 per student!

Go For Broke National Education Center and the Boise Valley JACL invite you and a guest to a special presentation of

Restoring America’s Promise: The  Fight For Justice

Featuring Dr. Mitchell T. Maki, President & CEO of Go For Broke National Education Center, and Lead Author of Achieving the Impossible Dream: How Japanese Americans Obtained Redress

Sunday, January 25, 2026

1:00 P.M. – 3:00 P.M.  

Wassmuth Center for Human Rights

777 S. 8th Street, Boise, ID 83702

Event is FREE; registration is required by Friday, January 16.

To register, go to: https://bit.ly/GoForBroke_January25_rsvp.

For more information, email Gina Nieto at gina@goforbroke.org. Due to limited adjacent availability, please allow additional time to park.

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Join us for a truly impactful and interactive presentation that delves into the poignant history of the Japanese American WWII experience. Nationally recognized redress movement scholar, Dr. Mitch Maki, will guide you through this critical chapter in American history, exploring the challenges of incarceration and military service, and culminating with the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.

Through the blending of historical facts with compelling community anecdotes and audience perspectives, Dr. Maki fosters a dynamic dialogue that connects this history to today's crucial issues of social justice and the enduring strength of democracy.

This is more than a presentation; it is a moving and inspirational opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the unwavering Go For Broke spirit of the Japanese American soldiers and the ongoing relevance of their fight for the freedoms and liberties we all cherish. This is a chance to explore how their legacy impacts us and future generations.