Weekly Digest
November 26, 2019
As a reminder, JACL offices will be closed Thursday and Friday in observance of the Thanksgiving Holiday
National JACL Announces 2020 Scholarship Program
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) is kicking off its National Scholarship and Awards Program for the 2020 academic year. The JACL annually offers approximately 30 college scholarships for students who are incoming college freshmen, undergraduates and graduates, and those specializing in law and the creative/performing arts. There are also student aid scholarships for those in need of financial assistance in this era of rising tuition costs. 

Scholarship Program guidelines, instructions and applications can be found on the JACL website, www.jacl.org , by clicking “Youth” on the menu bar.

Freshman applications must be submitted directly by the applicant to his/her local JACL chapter, with a postmark no later than March 2, 2020. Freshman applicants may obtain the mailing address of his/her chapter by contacting Membership Assistant Tomiko Ismail at tismail@jacl.org or by calling the Membership Department at (415) 921-5225, extension 26. 

Chapters will then have one month to evaluate their freshman applications and forward only the most outstanding ones to the National JACL Freshman Scholarship Committee, c/o Seattle JACL, P.O. Box 18558, Seattle, WA 98118, no later than April 1, 2020.

Applications for the “other” scholarship categories (undergraduate, graduate, law, creative/performing arts, and student aid) are to be sent directly by the applicant to the National JACL Scholarship Committee, c/o JACL Midwest District Council, 10604 Killarney Drive, Union, Kentucky 41091, with a postmark no later than April 1, 2020. 

All those applying to the National JACL Scholarship Program must be a youth/student or individual member of the JACL; a couple/family membership does not meet this requirement. Applicants must be enrolled in school in Fall 2020 in order to be eligible for a scholarship.

For more information on the National JACL Scholarship Program, contact Regional Director Patty Wada at pwada@jacl.org or National JACL Vice President for Planning & Development Matthew Farrells at mfarrells@jacl.org.
Consider Supporting JACL on Giving Tuesday!
Tuesday, December 3
Tuesday, December 3 is a National Day of Giving! It's a day for people to give back to their community through service, donations, and supporting others! We hope that if you want to give back you'll be willing to give to the JACL!

You can donate on our Facebook page or on our website . If you donate through Facebook on December 3, they'll be matching up to $7 million for non-profits for gifts made beginning 8:00am EST/5:00am PST! To donate to JACL's Giving Tuesday Facebook page, click here!
Nichi Bei Foundation is looking for Film Submissions for Films of Remembrance 2020
The Nichi Bei Foundation is in the midst of planning our ninth annual Films of Remembrance, a day-long showcase of films on the Japanese American incarceration experience during World War II traditionally held at the New People Cinema in February.

In 2020, due to some funding by the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, we will be adding a second day, to be held at the San Jose Betsuin Buddhist Church in San Jose’s Japantown. This allows for further education of the public, and increased opportunities to help empower filmmakers by providing another venue for their work. 

Films of Remembrance will be held Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020 at the New People Cinema in San Francisco’s Japantown and Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020 at the San Jose Betsuin Buddhist Church in San Jose’s Japantown.

We are currently looking for submissions of new or recent films in various genres, including documentaries (short and feature length), narratives (scripted) shorts and features and animations for consideration. Preference is for films one hour or shorter.

If you may know of any such films, please feel free to e-mail suggestions to  kenji@nichibeifoundation.org .

Or, if you are a producer or director of such films, please fill out the following survey and send to  kenji@nichibeifoundation.org  by Dec. 2, 2019:

Title:
Filmmaker:
Length:
Year:
Link to Trailer:
Link to film:
Password to link:
Website:
Synopsis:

Courtesy of Kenji Taguma, Nichi Bei Foundation
The 2020 Census is Coming Soon!
Kizuna in Little Tokyo is Hiring!
Title: Program Coordinator
Classification:Full-Time, Regular, Non-Exempt, Benefits Eligible
Hours 40 Hours Per Week, 1.0 FTE
Summary: Working under Kizuna’s Executive Director, the Program Coordinator is responsible for planning, coordination, and implementation of select Kizuna programs.

Courtesy of Stephanie Nitahara, Executive Director, Kizuna
Pacific Citizen is looking for Submissions for its Special Holiday Edition!
Gift a JACL Membership to Your Family!
Follow us on social media to receive updates about JACL's advocacy work and the activities of JACL chapters!
In Case You Missed It...
Tsuru for Solidarity's
"National Pilgrimage to Close the Camps"
Upgrade Your Membership!
Advocacy Opportunity: Support Filipino Veterans and their Families
Recently the Parole Program for World War II Filipino veterans and their families to immigrate to the United States and seek citizenship was terminated by the administration. The JACL joins other civil rights organizations in a call to action to help reinstate the program to help Filipino Veterans and their families reunite and seek citizenship! You can learn more in an op-ed written by General Taguba here!
Advocacy Opportunity: Join the JACL in Supporting the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act!
More than one million immigrants arrive at U.S. borders every year, many escaping violent or threatening situations in their home countries. 

Under Trump, immigrants arrive to U.S. detention centers that are just as damaging as the violence-prone countries many are fleeing. One investigator even found conditions at the nation’s largest Customs and Border Protection detention center “could be compared to torture facilities.”

U.S. Congress members, Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) have sponsored a bill called the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, proposing changes to how the U.S. treats immigrants and ensuring transparent and responsible conduct around immigrants awaiting a court decision.

This legislation would implement a shift from detention to alternative housing arrangements for immigrants awaiting court decisions. Community-based supervision programs allow immigrants to live independently, and outside of detention centers.

This legislation will also address transparency in how the U.S. runs its detention centers, calling for regular inspections at detention facilities to ensure that the facility workers are respecting all rights of immigrants. 

Migrant families lawfully seeking asylum cannot continue to be abused! Congress must enact legislation to prevent further detainment in for-profit concentration camps. Join the JACL along with other sponsors, Daily Kos, Franciscan Action Network, Blue Future, and more by signing the petition!
Advocacy Opportunity:
Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act
Check if your member of Congress has co-sponsored the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act of 2019. ( List of cosponsors here )

If they have not, call their office TODAY and ask them to do so. Mention that you are their constituent.

Not sure who your member of Congress is? Find them here .

This bill would bring oversight and enforcement of standards to immigrant detention, in an attempt to curb the horrific, inhumane conditions found inside many of these facilities. It would also compel investigations of deaths in custody and phase out private detention, so that all facilities are regulated and no companies stand to profit from locking up families seeking asylum. Find the text here .
Advocacy Opportunity:
Reuniting Families Act
Check if your member of Congress has co-sponsored the Reuniting Families Act. ( List of cosponsors here )

If they have not, call their office TODAY and ask them to do so. Mention that you are their constituent.

The bill promotes family unity by clearing backlogs for family-based immigration and providing for the more timely reunification of spouses and children, as well as providing protection for LGBTQ families. It eliminates per-country visa limits and recaptures lost visas. Find the text here.
Advocacy Opportunity: Petition of Japanese Americans to Close the Camps!
JACL has joined as a supporting organization for this petition.

Nikkei-mashou
Click HERE for the latest issue of Nikkei-mashou, the newsletter of the National Youth/Student Council.

The mission of the National Youth/Student Council is to build a national network that engages the next generation through community organizing to create positive change for the API community.

Apply to be a census worker
The U.S. Census Bureau is hiring temporary workers for the 2020 census count, including census takers and office staff. It is important to have representatives from all communities working as census workers to work towards a full and accurate count.

Click here to find the application and pay rates in your local area.