JACL Announces 2024 Japanese American of the Biennium Awardees
June 13, 2024
For Immediate Release
Seia Watanabe, VP Public Affairs, swatanabe@jacl.org
Matthew Weisbly, Education & Communications Coordinator, mweisbly@jacl.org
San Francisco, CA - JACL National is pleased to announce 3 Japanese American (JA) of the Biennium Awards to be conferred during our 2024 National Convention: Looking into the Future Together in Philadelphia, PA. The three JA of the Biennium awards to be presented are to:
Dr. Satsuki Ina, in the category of education/humanities, for her years of dedication to supporting victims of oppression, her research on intergenerational trauma, and her use of storytelling and psychology in activism to make change.
Chief Judge Dana Makoto Sabraw, in the category of politics/public affairs/law, for his years of public service in the court system and his work to ensure the civil and human rights of those in the justice system.
David Ono, in the category of arts/literature/communications, for his amazing work in the field of journalism, his moving storytelling around the World War II history of the Japanese American community, and his dedication to supporting the Japanese American community broadly.
All 3 recipients will be honored at the Sayonara Gala, which will conclude JACL's annual convention on the evening of July 13th, 2024.
These awards are given to select individuals to recognize their contributions to the Japanese American community. The JACL National Board confers these awards with consultation from other leaders in the Japanese American community and past JACL leaders. We applaud all three of our awardees for their accomplishments and look forward to recognizing them at the Sayonara Gala in July along with recipients of the prestigious JACL Ruby Pin. Please continue reading below for a short description of each of our awardees.
The 2024 JACL Convention: Looking into the Future Together, will be held July 10-14 in Philadelphia, PA. Based at the Sheraton Downtown Philadelphia, events will be held around Philadelphia, featuring joint programming with OCA and APIAVote, including the 2024 Presidential Town Hall. To register to attend the convention or for tickets to specific events, including the Sayonara Gala, please go to: https://jacl.org/2024-jacl-national-convention Full registrations or Sayonara Gala tickets must be purchased no later than June 18th, 2024.
Dr. Satsuki Ina - 2024 J.A. of the Biennium (Education/Humanities)
Dr. Satsuki Ina truly embodies the definition of speaking truth to power. Over the course of her 30+ years of activism, she courageously speaks out, confronting authority, calling out injustices on their watch, and demanding change. Her commitment to constantly addressing ways for a just society inspires many, young and old alike.
When she often commits to speaking out courageously it assumes risk that makes people uncomfortable, but has faith that the process is what makes people think to affect change. Case in point, she participated in protests at Fort Sill and Fort Bliss to defend the rights of undocumented migrant children and families. Her participation showed the powerful impact of multigenerational and grassroots activism and exemplified the moral authority to protest.
Based on her personal family experience of being born in Tule Lake Incarceration Camp, Dr. Ina has made it her lifelong passion to research the long-term impact of incarceration trauma and its intergenerational impact. Her work was credited in an August 2023 published research project for the Fund for Global Human Rights by Devon Kearney on how intergenerational trauma affects the present and future of transitional justice. This shows how her work continues to influence the concepts of other projects.
Storytelling is the most important means of conveying a strong transformative message. With the recent release of her latest book, 'The Poet and the Silk Girl,' she continues to share stories to inform and inspire others to challenge our thinking, seek justice, and be the change we want to see.
Chief Judge Dana Makoto Sabraw - 2024 J.A. of the Biennium (Political/Public Affairs/Law)
Dana Makoto Sabraw was elected Chief Judge of the U.S. Courts for the Southern District of California in 2021 and continues to serve in that capacity. He was confirmed as a U.S. District Judge in 2003. Previously, he served as San Diego County Superior Court Judge (1998-2003), and as Presiding Judge of San Diego North County Municipal Court (1995-1998). After receiving his Bachelor of Science from San Diego State University, he graduated from McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific in Sacramento.
Among his many honors and recognitions, Chief Judge Sabraw received the California State Bar’s 2023 Bernard E. Witkin Award for Excellence, the San Diego County Bar Association’s 2019 Outstanding Jurist Award, and was named Person of the Year in 2018 by the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Of probably the greatest relevance to the JACL with its civil and human rights agenda is the fact that Chief Judge Sabraw presided over the case of the U.S. Government’s separation of families at the U.S. border. It is Chief Judge Sabraw who ordered the government to stop separating families caught at the border and to reunite the 2,500 children already apart.
The best description of Dana M. Sabraw came from San Diego Superior Court Judge Joan Weber, who served with Judge Sabraw in the Superior Court. She said, “Judge Sabraw is brilliant, has excellent judicial temperament, and lawyers love being in his courtroom. He’s a gentleman to every person who walks into his courtroom. I believe that’s because he’s such a quality human being.”
David Ono - 2024 J.A. of the Biennium (Art/Literature/Communication)
An excerpt from “More Than an Anchorman: ABC7’s David Ono Celebrates a Milestone” by Ellen Endo, Rafu Shimpo (10/09/2021)
After 25 years at ABC7, the verdict is in on David Ono. He is the Tom Hanks of the nightly news.
Ask leaders of Japanese American organizations about Ono, and his years of devoting his time and talents to community come to mind. Since landing a key position with Los Angeles’ ABC7 Eyewitness News in 1996, Ono has reached beyond his anchor desk to become an award-winning filmmaker, discovering untold stories of people and events around the world.
“He has become a staple of the Nisei Week Coronation and a testament to community service,” commented James Okazaki, past Nisei Week Festival chairman. “As emcees, he and Tamlyn Tomita are a perfect pair.”
Okazaki explains that he was particularly moved by the sensitivity captured in Ono’s documentary “Legacy of Heart Mountain,” which chronicled the stories of the people who were held in the Wyoming concentration camp during World War II. Okazaki’s relatives were at Heart Mountain for three and a half years.
Born in Japan to a Caucasian father and Japanese mother, Ono took his mother’s maiden name sometime in the 1990s. His father was in the military and served in Japan for several years. The family moved to Texas, where Ono grew up in San Antonio, largely among Latinos, and attended the University of North Texas.
“The first time I heard the term ‘hapa’ was in college when a friend from Hawaii used that term,” he recalled. “‘What’s that?’ I asked. She said, ‘You are. You have the look.’” It wasn’t until he was hired by station KOVR in Sacramento that Ono began connecting with the Japanese American community.
He is doing pieces on race in America and continuing to explore new aspects of the story of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Battalion and the long-hidden role Nisei linguists played in the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) during World War II. The truth is: Ono is more than an anchorman. In 25 years as a broadcast journalist, he has given a new dimension to the profession. And, yes, he’s also a good guy.
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The Japanese American Citizens League is a national organization whose ongoing mission is to secure and maintain the civil rights of Japanese Americans and all others who are victimized by injustice and bigotry. The leaders and members of the JACL also work to promote cultural, educational, and social values and preserve the heritage and legacy of the Japanese American community.
