Weekly Digest
November 6, 2019
February 2020 Kakehashi Announcement Incoming
Executive Director, David Inoue's statement on Washington Nationals Pitcher, Kurt Suzuki's
White House Visit
As is tradition, the Washington Nationals were invited to the White House to celebrate their World Series win. In a move that has turned many heads, pitcher Kurt Suzuki, a Japanese American born and raised in Hawaii, was pictured wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat while being embraced by President Trump. Our Executive Director, David Inoue, who has a personal connection to the Nationals wrote his thoughts about Suzuki's White House visit in a Medium Post that you can read here.
San Francisco City Council votes to rename part of Gilbert street in SoMa, Jeff Adachi Way
Public Defender, Jeff Adachi, passed away tragically earlier this year in February 2019. He served many years as a public defender in the city, and was seen "as a champion of the people and a 'legal giant'" In March, several of the cities other public defenders and coworkers in the public defender office proposed that a street be renamed in Adachi's honor. Several city supervisors also got behind the project, and it was unanimously approved by the city council in May. In the time since, the city has been polling the neighborhood to see their reaction to the change, and it was just approved by the Land Use and Transportation Committee on November 4th. JACL National and the San Francisco Chapter were also among the many groups that support this honor for the late Mr. Adachi. You can read more about the city plans for Jeff Adachi Way here.
JACL Joins Other Civil Rights Orgs in Statement on the Dangers of Social Media Monitoring by Law Enforcement
Law enforcement agencies across the country have spent millions on social media monitoring without public debate or consent. Today the JACL joins over 50 civil rights and civil liberties organizations highlighting critical Civil Rights Concerns about Social Media Monitoring by Law Enforcement. Learn more about the civil rights impacts in the new statement here.
Update: The 2020 JACS NPS Grant Deadline Has Been Extended to November 19th!
The National Park Service is currently accepting applications for the Fiscal Year 2020 Japanese American Confinement Sites (JACS) Grant Program. These matching grants provide financial assistance to organizations and entities working to preserve historic Japanese American confinement sites and their history. Grants will be awarded dependent on funds appropriated by Congress.

For more information on eligibility requirements and the application process, please visit the JACS Grant Program website at   https://www.nps.gov/jacs/application.html . Information is also available on  grants.gov  (search for Funding Opportunity Number P19AS00210). Applications must be received by  Tuesday, November 19, 2019 at 5:00 PM Mountain Time
If you have any questions, please contact one of the NPS-JACS regional representatives listed below: 

Intermountain Region
(AZ, CO, MT, NM, OK, TX, UT, WY)
Kara Miyagishima
(303) 969-2885

Midwest Region  
(AR, IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE,OH,SD,WI) 
Rachel Franklin Weekley
(402) 661-1928

Pacific West Region
(AK, CA, ID, NV, OR, WA, and other states not listed)
Tom Leatherman
(510) 778-4171

Hawaii
Jacqueline Ashwell
(808) 725-6146

Text Courtesy of Kara Miyagashima from National Parks Service
Join the SF Chapter for their Spaghetti Crab Feed in December!
Join the National Youth Student Council at the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival
The JACL National Youth Student Council (NY/SC) will be hosting a Tsuru for Solidarity Coalition Building Panel along with the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival. The Panel will be held Saturday November 9th, while the festival runs from Thursday, November 7th through Sunday, November 17th. You can learn more about the film festival schedule and how to get tickets here!
The Philadelphia NY/SC Youth Summit is Sponsored by:
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...
More Upcoming Tsuru for Solidarity Events
Saturday Nov 9: 9:30 -5pm: Asian American Film Festival Conference: "Has Asian American Studies Failed?", Philadelphia https://www.facebook.com/events/543891426385731/

Saturday Nov 16: 2-4pm Tsuru Gathering- Seattle
Facebook Link Coming Soon
Nisei Veterans' Committee Memorial Hall, 1212 S. King Street
Seattle WA 98144
Sponsor: Tsuru for Solidarity - Seattle (Stan Shikuma)

Saturday Nov 16: 3-4pm 
Butterfly Effect Youth Rally to Support Migrant Children, Oakland
Lake Merritt Amphitheater; SouthSide of Lake Merritt Oakland CA
Sponsor: Butterfly Effect Migration
Book Signing of "World Heritage Japan" in San Francisco
"Films of Remembrance" Hosted by The Nichi Bei Foundation in New York City
JACL AZ Chapter Gila River Clean Up and Lunch Reception
On Saturday, November 16, 2019, chapter and community members will gather for the autumn Gila River Monument Clean-up. This visit will be marked as a time of remembrance. This project consists of picking up trash and painting over graffiti. Supplies, such as trash bags, paint, brushes, gloves, as well as water, will be provided. Participants are advised to wear outdoor-appropriate work clothing, footgear and sun protection.

Participants will assemble at the Casa Blanca Market/Gas Station (2577 Casa Blanca Road, Bapchule, AZ 85121, Exit 175 from the I-10) at 9:00 a.m., prompt. A Gila River Land Use Ordinance Officer will escort us onto the monument site via car caravan. If entering the site, participants are required to provide their names and the description and license plate of their vehicles to the officer. If interested in this project, please submit names and vehicle information to Donna Cheung [dcheung2721@gmail.com] or 602-501-3505 by Saturday, November 9.

Lunch reception (12:30 p.m.) with featured exhibit at:
The Chandler Museum, 300 S. Chandler Village Drive, Chandler, AZ 85226
"Gaman: Enduring Japanese American Internment at Gila River,"
December 8, 2018-April 18, 2020.
The exhibit includes a wall of names of former incarcerees at the Gila River incarceration
site.
Upgrade Your Membership!
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.