1,000 Cranes: Family Fun Day Recap

Attendees learning how to make musubi. Check out our facebook page for more photos!

We partnered with Camp Musubi to host the 1,000 Cranes: Family Fun Day on Sunday, August 27. There was a great turn out of over 25 families who came out to explore Japanese American culture and history through various kid-friendly activities.

Attendees learned how to fold cranes, make musubi and learned about Japanese American and local history with Camp Musubi and its director Tony Osumi. Families also participated in our community art project, "What does community mean to you?" Check out our Facebook and website to see photos from the day and the online installation of our community art project! 

We also completed folding 1,000 cranes that will be presented on September 10, 2017 at 1:30pm at the Venice Japanese American Memorial Monument site on the northwest corner of Venice and Lincoln. The 1,000 cranes will be presented to the King Fahad Mosque of Culver City as a symbol of peace, love and hope between the Japanese American and Muslim American community. Featured keynote speakers for the 1,000 Cranes: Solidarity, Vigilance and Peace are former Assemblymemember Warren Furutani and community activist and storyteller Tanzila "Taz" Ahmed.

For pictures from our family event, please visit and like our facebook page: www.facebook.com/VeniceWLAJACL. 

My Internship Experience with the Venice-West LA JACL

At the interactive exhibit at Go For Broke

In March of 2017 I applied for the Kizuna NCI Internship.  I was nearing the end of my first year at UCLA where I study Fine Art and Asian American Studies and I wanted to become more involved in the API community in Los Angeles, especially the Japanese American community, since I grew up in San Francisco and had no previous involvement with Los Angeles.  I also wanted to gain some internship experience, as I this is my first internship and I wanted to have one that was meaningful to me and this community.

I was placed at the Venice-West LA Chapter of the JACL and the main objective of the work I do is to bring the chapter up to date in terms of technology and design to make it more accessible and appealing to the younger generation of Japanese Americans.  I have primarily worked on designing a website for the recently merged Venice-West LA chapter of the JACL, designing an email newsletter and various flyers for future events that the chapter has planned.

The NCI program also includes weekly Intern Days in which we learn about professional skill and visit important Japanese American organizations in the LA area and learn about the work they do in their community.  We have gone on a historical tour of Little Tokyo, visited the Go For Broke Museum, the Asian American Studies Department at UCLA, the Gardena Valley Japanese Community Japanese Community Institute and many more. These Intern Days have been a nice addition to my internship work as it is more of a traditional learning program as supposed to the more hands on and practical experience I have gained in my work with the Venice-West LA JACL

Throughout the internship I have worked in the Kizuna office in Little Tokyo, as the Venice-West LA chapter of the JACL doesn’t have any permanent staff or office.  So most of the work I have done has been remote with the help of Amy Watanabe, Vice President of the chapter.  Initially, this was very strange and I didn’t fully understand how to be efficient with my time or solve problems independently.  However, as the the internship has progressed I have adapted and that ability to work independently has been one of the greatest lessons that I have learned from this internship.

Overall, through the internship I have learned not only how to work independently but also much about web design and graphic design as well as helped me get involved in the LA Japanese American community and make connections with amazing people here.  After this internship is over I hope to stay involved with the Venice-West LA JACL and the larger Japanese American community throughout my college career and after I graduate as well.  

48th Annual JACL National Convention in Washington, D.C.

Delegates Amy Watanabe & Keith Kawamoto

Washington, D.C. - The JACL National hosted the 48th Annual National Convention, "Our Story: Resilience, Remembrance, Resolve," in Washington D.C. from July 6-9, 2017. Boardmembers Keith Kawamoto and Amy Watanabe represented the Venice-West LA Chapter serving as this year's voting delegates.

In remembrance of the 75th anniversary of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's signing of Executive Order 9066, which forced 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry into incarceration camps without due process, the 2017 Convention featured an Opening Reception with an exclusive viewing of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, "Righting a Wrong," highlighting the experience of Japanese Americans during World War II. Original pages from the Executive Order 9066 on loan from the National Archives were displayed during the private reception.

The Embassy of Japan hosted a private reception for JACL Convention attendees at the Ambassador's Residence. During the Reception, the Governor Ralph L. Carr Courage Award was presented to Wade Henderson, the outgoing president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, for his lifetime of service in support of civil rights. Former Governor Ralph Carr advocated for the Constitutional rights of Japanese Americans and encouraged the state of Colorado to welcome Japanese Americans following Pearl Harbor. The prestigious Governor Ralph L. Carr Award honors outstanding leaders who personify his legacy of working towards racial justice and promotion of civil rights.

Awardees and dignitaries at the private reception hosted by the Embassy of Japan at the Ambassador's Residence. From left to right: Wade Henderson, Bill Yoshino, Secretary Norman Mineta, Embassy of Japan's DCM Oike, JACL National President Gary Mayeda, Embassy of Japan's Minister Sasayama.

Long-time JACL staffer Bill Yoshino was also presented the Foreign Minister's Award by the Government of Japan to celebrate his longstanding dedication to restoring and protecting the rights of Japanese Americans. Bill Yoshino retired this year after 38 years of distinguished service, serving JACL in many capacities as Midwest Regional Director, Interim Executive Director and his instrumental work for JACL’s Redress Campaign and education programs.

From left to right: Keith Kawamoto; Amy Watanabe; Karen Korematsu, civil rights leader and President of the Korematsu Institute; Nisha Ramachandra, Policy Director for the National Council for Asian Pacific Americans; and Floyd Mori, past JACL National President and JACL Executive Director Emeritus.

At the Sayonara Banquet, the JACL President's Award was presented to Joan Bernstein and Angus Macbeth (posthumously) for their work with the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) and their contributions to seeking truth and justice. The JACL President's Award recognizes individuals with outstanding national leadership in promoting civl and human rights.

The CWRIC was established by Congress to review the facts and circumstances surrounding Executive Order 9066 and held hearings across the country and heard from over 750 witnesses, most of whom were incarcerees. In its final report, the CWRIC stated that thy fund no persuasive evidence of a military or security threat from Japanese Americans and concluded that the cause of exclusion and incarcerations was the result of "...race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership." Ms. Jodie Bernstein served as Chairperson of the Commission and Mr. Macbeth served as Special Counsel. 

To view photos from all the events, please visit: https://jacl.org/2017convention/

George Inagaki Chapter Citizenship Award Presented at 48th Annual JACL National Convention

From left to right: Ron Yoshino (Chicago JACL- recipient of George Inagaki Chapter Citizenship Award), Amy Watanabe (Venice-West LA JACL), Travis Nishi (Chair, JACL Awards & Reocgnition)

Washington, D.C. – On July 7, 2017, the Venice-West Los Angeles JACL Chapter presented the George Inagaki Chapter Citizenship Award to the Chicago Chapter. The Award recognizes the work of a model chapter in the areas of civil and social rights advocacy, community engagement and commitment to youth and leadership development.

The Chicago JACL Chapter was recognized for their continuous work in developing relevant and impactful programs and creating a strong leadership pipeline. Currently, over one-third of their Chapter Board is under 30 years old and many of JACL National's young leaders come have come from their chapter, such as Stephanie Nitahara (JACL National Associate Director), Rebecca Ozaki (Program Coordinator), Christine Munteanu (former Program Coordination), Kenji Kuramitsu (Youth Rep) and Brandon Mita (former JACL Legal Counsel). Chicago JACL's program have also been used as a model for JACL National programs, in particular the Kansha program. Through the Kansha Program, every year they bring 10 Chicago and Midwest 18-25 year olds to Little Tokyo in Los Angeles to learn about community history and visit Manzanar.

The George Inagaki Chapter Citizenship Award is named after George Inagaki, who is best known for serving as JACL National President from 1952 to 1956. In 1956, he was named the JACL Nisei of the Biennium. The George Inagaki Award was established in 1968 to honor Mr. Inagaki's many years of service and outstanding dedication to the national organization.

2017 Scholarship Awards Dinner

(Left to Right) Shannon Tsumaki, Masumi Asahi, Mariko Brooks, John Saito Jr.

On July 5, 2017, the Venice-West Los Angeles JACL hosted its annual Scholarship Awards dinner to announce the recipients of the Chiyo M. Hattori Medical Scholarship and Freshman Scholarship.

The evening featured keynote remarks by 2016 Miss Western LA Shannon Tsumaki. Ms. Tsumaki shared her experience as a member of the Nisei Week Court, including traveling to Japan, Hawaii and Washington, D.C.

The recipient of the 2017 College Freshman Scholarship was Mariko Brooks, a prospective freshman at Princeton University.  She graduated from Culver City High School as the Class of 2017’s salutatorian and received the Culver City High School Dave Sanchez Scholar Athlete Award.  She was a starter on the varsity softball team as well as the captain and MVP of the Varsity water polo team.  Ms. Brooks will attend Yale University in the Fall and plans to major in History of Medicine, Science and Public Health.  She hopes to gain the skills to reinvent healthcare systems in underserved communities, specifically to serve seniors and other groups in need.

The recipient of the Chiyo M. Hattori Medical Student Scholarship was Masumi Asahi. The Chiyo M. Hattori Medical Student Scholarship is given to a student entering or currently enrolled in Medical School. Masumi is a fourth year medical student at Western University of Health Sciences in the College of Osteopathic Medicine.  He graduated from C. K. McClatchy High School and graduated from UCLA where he majored in Physiology. He has received honors from the Japanese American Medical Association and volunteers his time at local health clinics through the Asian American Health Professors Student Association. Mr. Asahi is also an active volunteer at the Koyasan Buddhist Temple in Little Tokyo where he teaches weekly taiko classes.

The Scholarship Program and Awards Dinner Program was coordinated by Scholarship Chair, Marisa Tamaru.

Mariko Brooks addresses the attendees

Masumi Asahi addresses the attendees