Mile High JACL

08/23/2025

Today is the National Day of Action to .

For over a century, chapters of American history have been preserved in our national parks and expertly told by National Park Service staff, civil servants who steward historically and culturally significant sites. This includes places that tell the story of the forced removal and incarceration of over 125,000 Japanese Americans – mostly U.S. citizens – during World War II.

Today, places like Amache National Historic site, right here in Colorado, Manzanar National Historic Site, Amache National Historic Site, Tule Lake National Monument, Minidoka National Historic Site, Honouliuli National Historic Site, Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial, the National Japanese American Memorial and other sites managed by the NPS stand as testimony to the actions that our government would later acknowledge as a grave injustice motivated by racial prejudice and wartime hysteria.

Yet today, this legacy is under attack. And the risks are evident:
- Signs at parks now warn against telling “negative” stories, threatening the legacy of sites and the people who have worked tirelessly to preserve their histories.
- Funding cuts threaten critical staff and programming.
- Gateway communities — especially rural towns — stand to lose millions in local revenue.

Given the many attacks on national parks, we must protect the cultural, historical and economic value of these irreplaceable places for generations to come. We call on Congress to fund national parks and take down signs that discourage the discussion of lived history and to support the 1916 Organic Act which calls for national park units to be protected for future generations.

Ultimately, this is about more than budgets. It’s about who gets to be remembered in the American story, and who doesn’t. National parks tell the full story of America – from our darkest chapters to our greatest triumphs. Americans must reject efforts to delete or rewrite our nation’s history.

Specifically, we call on Congress to:
- Remove all signs discouraging factual storytelling.
- Restore and increase funding to the NPS — no more cuts.
- Defend the freedom to remember all of our history.

08/16/2025

https://abc7.com/post/federal-agents-conduct-operation-little-tokyo-los-angeles-outside-venue-where-newsom-announced-redistricting-plans/17537756/

Federal agents conducted the operation outside the venue where Gov. Gavin Newsom held a news conference on redistricting in California.

05/14/2025

The National Veterans Network invites you to a Community Meeting to learn about the National Museum of the United States Army’s first Traveling Exhibit, I Am An American: the Nisei Soldier Experience, a historical exhibit that will educate the public about the extraordinary service of the U.S. Army's 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and Military Intelligence Service.

The traveling exhibit will come to Denver, CO this Friday, May 16. Register below!

The National Veterans Network invites you to a Community Meeting to learn about the National Museum of the United States Army’s first Traveling Exhibit, I Am An American: the Nisei Soldier Experience, a historical exhibit that will educate the public about the extraordinary service of the U.S. ...

10/12/2024

The Japanese American story, told in an engaging graphic novel: "But, Where Are You REALLY From?" is an exquisitely produced and engagingly written graphic novel designed to appeal to 5th graders, but would appeal to all ages. It's a smart and thoughtful project of the Washington DC chapter of JACL.
https://www.pacificcitizen.org/but-where-are-you-really-from/

09/19/2024

See the short documentary and join the discussion after the free screening at the Denver Botanic Gardens next week! RSVP at the bottom of the flyer.

09/11/2024

Flower of hope: Join us for a free screening of the short documentary film, "Amache Rose," about the miraculous rose that bloomed 80 years after the Amache concentration camp was closed. A cutting that was taken to the Denver Botanic Gardens bloomed. The director of this short (30 minute) film will speak with panelists (including me) after the screening. RSVP at https://tinyurl.com/bdcjf4rv

08/16/2024

What a loss: Koda Farms, the family-owned source of Kokuho Rose rice for generations of Japanese American families (with a disruption because of incarceration during WWII) is shutting down its operations.

Koda Farms, a family-run rice business revered by chefs, ends a century-long tradition.

07/15/2024

Well-thought-out and well-written announcement from national JACL:

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JACL Condemns Political Violence, Renews Call for Assault Weapons Ban

July 15, 2024

For Immediate Release

Seia Watanabe, VP Public Affairs, [email protected]
Matthew Weisbly, Education Programs Manager, [email protected]


Washington, DC, July 15, 2024. Like all Americans, JACL members were horrified to hear of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. We mourn the death of Corey Comperatore, who as a fireman, was accustomed to putting his life at risk for others, but should have never had to do so at a political rally to protect his own family. We hope for the quick and full healing of former President Trump and the others who remain in the hospital, and all those in attendance who have been traumatized by this all-too-common incident of gun violence.

JACL learned of the shooting amid our annual convention just a few hours away in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as we began to enter our Sayonara Gala to close with what should have been a celebratory evening. David Inoue, JACL Executive Director interrupted the dinner to share the news with attendees and condemn what had happened as un-American and contrary to our values as Americans, particularly as JACL members. JACL values and employs concepts of the open debate of ideas as we joined OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates and APIA Vote for joint programming this week to tackle challenging issues facing AANHPI voters in this year’s elections, and with APIA Vote’s leadership, hosted a Presidential Town Hall allowing both campaigns to speak to our community.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time our convention has been conducted under the cloud of a tragic shooting incident. Five years ago, our final day of convention in Salt Lake City was similarly interrupted by news of the mass shooting that took the lives of 23 people in El Paso, Texas. That hate crime is the largest mass shooting targeting Latino victims specifically. Later that evening, another nine people were killed in another mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio.

It is without doubt that gun violence has become too commonplace, and even with the protection of the Secret Service, arguably the most elite protective service in the world, it was not enough to prevent what happened on Saturday evening.

We reiterate our call for the long overdue renewal of the assault weapon ban.

The shooter sought to silence Presidential Candidate Trump. While JACL has often found ourselves in opposition to Mr. Trump’s policies as President, we value the opportunity to engage in public debate and engagement where we might voice our disagreements, but also find where we might find alignment and work together.

We must recognize the dangerous intersection of violent rhetoric and gun violence. Neither the First nor the Second Amendments are absolute rights. JACL held its convention in Philadelphia, the birthplace of our nation, and the Declaration of Independence that so eloquently states our inherent rights as people to “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” These fundamental rights are now endangered by increasingly dangerous unrestrained speech and the ease of access to deadly fi****ms.


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About The Japanese American Citizens League

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.

  The Nation’s Oldest and Largest Asian American/Pacific Islander Civil Rights Organization   Join our community in the movement for social justice! Join/Renew Your JACL Membership Here! The Japanese American Citizens League is a national organization whose mission is to secure and safeguard the...

06/13/2024

Short extra article: Along with my story in the Nichi Bei newspaper about the pilgrimage to Amache, the National Historic Site in SE Colorado where over 7,000 people of Japanese ancestry were incarcerated during WWII, I also wrote a sidebar piece about the other activities that weekend, including a visit to the Amache Museum.

A visit to the Amache National Historic Site needs to include a must-see stop at the Amache Museum, which John Hopper and the students at the Granada School’s Amache Preservation […]

04/23/2024

History preserved: Amache, in southeast Colorado where more than 7,000 people of Japanese ancestry were incarcerated during WWII, is finally an official National Historic Site and part of the National Parks Service. This old sign has been replaced... Here's my article in the Pacific Citizen newspaper about Amache: https://www.pacificcitizen.org/nps-welcomes-amache-site-as-national-historic-site/

03/20/2024

Mixing it up: Fascinating YouTube video (half-hour long) with eight biracial Japanese Blasians (Black) and Wasians (White) discussing the challenges as well as benefits of their identities and two cultures. They certainly have faced both subtle and overt racism --both in Japan and in their families' home countries. I know one, Shizuka Anderson, because I'm a big fan of her YouTube food videos, and she's a reporter for NHK. The 2020 Miss Universe Japan, who is Nigerian and Japanese, is also in this video . This is really great and powerful. Awesome conversation!

Today, I asked my friend's to share their experiences about being mixed race in Japan!💼Tokyo Misfits Club: https://www.youtube.com//membership It's...

03/12/2024

Food for thought: When "Oppenheimer" was released last year, it was a hit worldwide... except in Japan, where it wasn't screened at all. With its Oscar wins, it'll finally open March 29. The Japanese felt the film didn't show anything of the results of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. One man quoted at the end of this article suggests a movie should be made from a Japanese perspective.
https://japantoday.com/category/national/hiroshima-grapples-with-%27oppenheimer%27-oscars-success?

"Oppenheimer" had a glittering night at the Oscars but in Hiroshima, devastated by the first nuclear bomb in 1945, the film about the weapon's creator is harder to stomach. "Is this really a movie that people in Hiroshima can bear to watch?" said Kyoko Heya, president of the Japa...