JACL News: Internees Receive Their Degrees After 67 Years

Internees Receive Their Degrees After 67 Years
Recently Japanese-Americans received
honorary degrees from UC Berkeley, to amend
the injustice of their studies being abruptly
ended by their internment during World War II.
For the video, please click here.

JACL News: November 2009 Newsletter and Sus Ito on NPR

November 2009 Newsletter
Click here for the November 2009 NEJACL
Newsletter click here: Newsletter.

Sus Ito's Appearance on Public
Radio International
Our chapter's star speaker on the
442nd, Sus Ito was featured on
The World, the international news
program produced by WGBH
and Public Radio International.

To listen to the full audio: Click here.
(To download, Mac users control
click and "download linked file" and
Windows users right click and "save
target as"...)

Gallery Update
The gallery page has been updated
with recent events: Gallery.

JACL Event: Panel Discussion: US Census and Identity (This Weekend!)

JACL Panel Discussion: US Census and Identity

[Event Flyer]

4-5:30 pm, Saturday, November 7, 2009

MIT E51-145, Wadsworth & Amherst Streets

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA

JACL News: Upcoming New England JACL Events

Upcoming New England JACL Events
Two events have been added to the
New England JACL Fall Calendar.

On October 24, 2009, the AARW
Annual banquet on will be honoring
one of our members, Mari Oye, with the
May Takayanagi Making Waves Award.
Two years ago Mari made headlines
when she and fellow Presidential
Scholars presented a letter to then
President George Bush asking the
government to reject torture and treat
terrorism suspects humanely. The event
begins at 6 pm and features a 10-course
banquet. Tickets may be purchased at:
www.aarw.org.

On November 7, 2009, the New England
JACL will partner with MIT to co-sponsor
a discussion on the upcoming 2010 US
Census and Identity. The featured speaker
will be Paul Watanabe, director of the institute
of Asian American Studies and professor of
Political Science at UMass Boston. Earlier
this year Paul was appointed to the Asian
Advisory Committee for the 2010 Census.
Details about other speakers and location
will be posted later this month.

JACL Event: Panel Discussion: US Census and Identity (This Weekend!)

JACL Panel Discussion:
US Census and Identity
4 pm, Saturday, November 7, 2009
MIT
Cambridge, MA
More information to come.

JACL Event: AARW Annual Banquet

AARW Annual Banquet
6 pm, Saturday, October 24, 2009
Chau Chow City
Chinatown, Boston, MA
For more information:  www.aarw.org

JACL News: National JACL Gala

National JACL Gala
The JACL will honor Japanese American
veterans at its Third National JACL Gala to
be held in Washington, D.C. on Thursday,
September 17, 2009. An award will also be
presented to Senator Daniel K. Akaka, who
has been diligently working in the United
States Senate for the good of veterans for
many years.

For details, visit www.jacl.org

JACL News: The JACL National Youth Conference

The JACL National Youth Conference
The JACL is seeking youth or students to
participate in the National Youth Conference
The Conference is open to everyone, not just
individuals with Japanese heritage.

For more information, please see their website:
www.jacl.org/youth/conference-youth.html

JACL News: JACL opposes Texas voter legislation

JACL opposes Texas voter legislation
The Japanese American Citizens League
announced its opposition to a bill in
the Texas legislature, S.B. 362, that
would impose strict identification
requirements for voting.  In addition
to a voter registration certificate,
voters would also need identification
such as a driver's license.

For more information: Press Release

JACL Event: Bento & Baseball

Bento & Baseball [Event Flyer]
Our second annual Bento & Baseball
event in Lowell. This year we'll be
featuring the film Kokoyakyu, a
documentary about a high school
baseball tournament in Japan. Join
us for all or part of the day. A flyer
with complete details is enclosed
with this newsletter. We'll be starting
at 2 pm with the film, followed by the
potluck bento at 3:15, and then a
Lowell Spinners baseball game at the
nearby stadium.

For more information:  Bento & Baseball 2009

JACL News: Spring 2009 Newsletter

Spring 2009 Newsletter
Click here for the Spring 2009 NEJACL
Newsletter click here: Newsletter.

JACL News: April 2009 Newsletter and Nisei Commemorative Stamp

April 2009 Newsletter
Click here for the April 2009 NEJACL
Newsletter click here: Newsletter.

Nisei Commemorative Stamp
The JACL is asking its members and
friends to write letters of support
for the Japanese American (Nisei)
WWII Veterans Commemorative Stamp
proposed to the United States Postal
Service.Personal letters are best,
and a past 2007 sample letter can
be found at the campaign's website:
www.niseistamp.org

Send letters to:
Chairperson Jean Picker Firstenberg
Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee
c/o Stamp Development
U.S. Postal Service
1735 North Lynn Street, Suite 5013
Arlington, VA 22209-6432

JACL News: New NEJACL RSS Feed

03.20.09
Stay updated to the latest news and
events, by subscribing to the New
England JACL RSS Feed. This allows
subscribers to easily stay informed
by retrieving the latest content from
our site to your e-mail or web browser.

Click here and following directions
to subscribe.

JACL News: Archived News

03.15.09
White House Internship Program
President Obama has launched the White
House Internship Program for his
administration and announced that
applications are currently being
accepted for the summer of 2009.
Those selected to participate in the
program will gain valuable job experience
and an inside look at the life of White
House staff while building leadership
skills. The 2009 Summer Internship
program runs from May 22 to August 14,
and the submission deadline is March 22,
2009.

For more information:
www.whitehouse.gov/about/internships

02.25.09
Call for Papers: APIA Health Forum
The Asian & Pacific Islander American Health
Forum is partnering with the American Journal
of Public Health to publish a special edition
which focuses on the health and health care
needs of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and
Pacific Islander communities. Please submit
manuscripts directly to American Journal of
Public Health website: www.ajph.org.

For more info: AJPH Flyer

02.20.09
National JACL Scholarships
The 2009 National JACL Scholarship Program’s
information brochure and applications are now
available. For more information go to our
scholarship page.

02.05.09
JACL-Lowell Spinners Baseball Event 2009
Due to the success of last year's Bento and
Baseball, the NEJACL will be again hosting
an outing to the minor league ballpark in
Lowell. Mark your calendars for June 20th.
More details to come...

01.29.09
January 2009 Newsletter
Click here for the January 2009 NEJACL
Newsletter click here: Newsletter.

JACL Events: Archived News

03.25.09
Beating the Odds:
Addressing Problem Gambling in the
Asian American Community
The Institute for Asian American Studies
at UMass Boston will have a panel
addressing the gambling problem in
the Asian American community. It will
be held on Wednesday, March 25 from
2 to 3:30 pm.
Click here for more information

02.04.09-04.22.09
2009 Japanese Film Series
Celebrating 50 years of the Boston-Kyoto
city sisterhood, Boston University's
Asian Studies program will be screening
a diverse variety of films, from classics
of the past (particularly three films set
in Kyoto) to more recent masterpieces.
Seating is limited on a first-come,
first-served basis.

Films for Spring 2009 include:
2/4: Rikyu (1989)
2/11: Sanjuro (1962)
2/18: Linda Linda Linda (2005)
2/25: Late Spring (1949)
3 /4: Ikiru (1952)
3/18: Nausicaä of the Valley of the
Wind (1984)
3/25: Naniwa Elegy (1936)
4/1: Hula Girls (2006)
4/8: The Burmese Harp (1956)
4/15: Sisters of the Gion (1936)
4/22: Substitute screening in case of
snow cancellation

For more information
BU Calendar
Asian Studies at BU

JACL News and Events: Archived News

Event: 02.28.09
So…What Are You, Anyway?
Multiracialism in the 21st Century
The Harvard College Half Asian Persons
Association (Harvard HAPA) in conjunction
with SwirlBoston presents a conference on
biracial and multiracial identity.

Event Flyer: Click here.
For more information: hapa.eventbrite.com

News: 10.18.08
October 2008 Newsletter
Click here for the October 2008 NEJACL
Newsletter click here: Newsletter.

Event: 02.19.09
Tufts Day of Remembrance 2009
Tufts University will be hosting a Day of
Remembrance program featuring Kerry Jo
Nakagawa, baseball historian and author of
“Through a Diamond: 100 Years of Japanese
American Baseball.” The program entitled
“American Pastime: Baseball Behind Barbed
Wire” will be held on Thursday, February 19
from 5:30 to 7 pm on the Tufts campus,
Pearson 104 (Talbot Avenue). Nakagawa founded
the Nisei Baseball Research project (NBRP) in
1996 to preserve the history of Japanese
American Baseball (www.niseibaseball.com).
He was also an associate producer and starred
in the 2007 film “American Pastime,” the story
about baseball at the Topaz internment camp.
After the program, there will be a dinner reception
at the Asian American Center. For more information
contact the Asian American Center at 617.627.3056
or email: asianamcenter@tufts.edu

Event: 02.19.09
UConn Day of Remembrance 2009
Robert T. Hayashi, winner of the 2007 National
Council on Public History Book Award, will be
the featured speaker at the Day of Remembrance
program sponsored by several University of
Connecticut departments including the Asian
American Studies Institute, Storrs campus. The
program will be held at the campus Student Union
Ballroom on Thursday, Feb. 19 at 4 pm. The
program is free and open to the public.
Hayashi’s book “Haunted by Waters: A Journey
through Race and Place in the American West”
takes us thorugh the history of Idaho’s Nez
Perce, Chinese, Shoshone, Mormon and Japanese
American residents. His stories are taken from
memoirs, oral interviews, poetry, legal cases,
government documents, and the occasional road
sign. Hayashi is currently Assistant Professor
of English and American Studies at Amherst
College. “Haunted by Waters” is his first book.
More information is available at:
asianamerican.uconn.edu/events.htm.


Event: 02.13.09
UConn Pan Asian Council: Styles of Asia
The Pan Asian Council of the University of
Connecticut's Asian American Cultural Center
is hosting Styles of Asia, a special cultural
and fundraising event showcasing fashions,
traditions and food from the Asian continent.
It will be held at the University of
Connecticut's Rome Commons Ballroom, at the
Storrs Campus. This special event will raise
money for China Quake Relief, Landmine Relief
and related accident prevention in Cambodia
and the D.F. School for Blind Children in
India. The admission fee is $2.00.

News: 09.13.09
September 2008 Newsletter
Click here for the September 2008 NEJACL
Newsletter click here: Newsletter.

News: 09.13.09
Japan Exchange and Teaching 2008
Information on Japan Exchange and Teaching (JTE)
Program that offers college graduates an opportunity
to live and work in Japan for a year. Click here:
JET Info.

News: 09.13.09
Genealogy Searches
Exciting news from the office of the Consulate-
General’s in Boston. If you have ever tried to search
for your family’s roots in Japan, the Consulate-
General’s office is offering some help. Click here:
Genealogy Info.

News: 09.05.08
Mike Honda Fellowship
The National JACL has announced the Mike
Honda Fellowship. Information has been posted
on this opportunity on our internships page:
Internships

Event: 01.10.09
Peabody Essex Museum: Japanese New
Year Celebration
On Saturday, January 10, 2009 Come
celebrate the Japanese New Year with
the Peabody Essex Museum! Take part in
our family arts activities of creating
nengajo (Japanese New Year cards), and
decorating a traditional Japanese Daruma
doll. This year the Odaiko New England
dance group will perform the traditional
Japanese Lion Dance and host a workshop
with visitors to teach the art of dance.
Participation in the Japanese New Year
Celebration is FREE with museum admission.
For more info:
www.pem.org/events/children.php

Event: 11.15.08
My Life as an Alien:  Tales of an Asian American
Expatriate in Asia, A talk by Paul Niwa
Join us to explore life as an Asian American in Asia in a
talk by Paul Niwa, a journalism professor at Emerson College.
The program will be held on Saturday, Nov. 15 at Emerson
College in Boston and is free and open to the public.  His
talk begins at 4:30 pm in Room W210 of Emerson College's
Walker Building, 120 Boylston Street (on Boylston between
Tremont and Charles Streets. Click here: Paul Niwa Info.

Event: 10.18.08-10.26.08
Boston Asian American Film Festival
The Boston Asian American Film Festival (BAAFF) will
be hosted at several venues throughout the Boston
area. It will include 15 films over 9 days. This film
festival is presented by Asian American Resource
Workshop (AARW) and is dedicated to supporting Asian
American films, filmmakers, and audiences with content
relevant to the Asian American community and culture.
Please check out their website for show times and ticket
information: www.aarw.org/baaff2008

News: 07.16.08-07.20.08
National Convention Attendance and
Resolution
The New England JACL recently sponsored a
passed resolution at the JACL National Convention
in Salt Lake City pertaining to human rights of
detainees. Copies of this resolution have been sent
by the JACL to the President, Vice President,
Attorney General, and majority and minority leaders
of Congress. The convention was attended by co-
president Ken Oye. For the full resolution please
click here: Human Rights of Detainees.

News: 07.16.08
Senate Bill S. 3213 to Help Preserve
Tule Lake Concentration Camp
The Tule Lake Preservation Committee is
calling for citizens to contact their senators and
representatives urging support for an important
bill that would bring Tule Lake under the authority
of the National Park System and enable the
development of a visitor center at the site. For more
information and a form letter that you can send, visit
their website www.tulelake.org. For the full letter
sent to the New England JACL: Tule Lake Letter.

Event: 09.27.08-09.28.08
Peabody Essex Museum Japanese
Kabuki Theater Postponed
The Peabody Essex Museum guided tour
for JACL members and friends that was
planned for Saturday, September 27 has
been postponed. We hope to reschedule
it for later this year. However, we encourage
you to still visit the museum that weekend
for two days of workshops, demonstrations,
performances and family activities centering
on the art of Kabuki. Click here:
PEM Japanese Kabuki Theater Info.

News: 07.11.08
Mari Oye Receives National JACL Scholarship
Congratulations to Mari Oye, a freshman at Yale
University and one of the 2008 National JACL
Undergraduate Scholarship winners. Mari was
awarded the $5000 Kenji Kajiwara Memorial
Scholarship. She is the daughter of long-time
NE JACLers Willa Michener and Ken Oye, chapter
co-chair. Last year Mari was awarded a National
JACL Freshman Scholarship. Two additional
scholarship winners are attending schools in the
New England area. Aya Michaels, of Connecticut,
is a graduate student at Harvard, and Elizabeth
Leake, of Colorado, is an undergraduate at Yale.

Event: 08.08.08-08.16.08
New Japanese Cinema Series at the
Museum of Fine Arts
A five-film series of recent Japanese
cinema will be featured at the Boston
Museum of Fine Arts from  August 8th
to the 16th. It will include showings of
Sakuran directed by Mika Ninagawa (2006),
The Mourning Forest directed by Naomi
Kawase (2007), Filmful Life: Kon Ichikawa
directed by Shinji Aoyama (2006), Near
Equal, Yayoi Kasama, I Adore Myself
directed by Takako Natsumoto (2008),
Gumi Chocolate Pine (2006) Keralino
Sandorovich directs Ken Otsuki’s film,
and Murder of the Inugami Clan directed
by Kon Ichikawa (2006). For tickets call
617.369.3306 or send an email to
webticketing@mfa.org.  For
showing times and more information go to:
www.mfa.org.

Event: 08.10.08  [Event Flyer]
Bento and Baseball
The New England JACL will be hosting
an event involving the showing of the
film American Pastime,  about
the role of baseball in the Topaz Internment
Camp, followed by a Lowell Spinners minor
league baseball game. The film will be
shown at Middlesex Community College
in Lowell at 10 a.m. followed by a pot-luck
lunch, (please bring one dish per person)
and then a Lowell Spinners game at 1:30
p.m. Please see the Event Flyer
for details and reply form. Please e-mail
Steve Nishino at nishino@nejacl.org
for questions or more information.

Event: 08.01.08-08.03.08
Ukulele Virtuoso Comes to New
England
Jake Shimabukuro of Honolulu, fast
becoming one of the world’s top ukulele
musicians, will be performing in the New
England area. Check him out in person
at: August 1st at the Iron Horse Music Hall
in Northampton, August 2nd at the
Regattabar at the Charles Hotel, and
August 3rd at the Newport Folk Festival.

Event: 07.26.08
Obon Festival at the Peabody Essex
Museum in Salem, MA
Taiko Drumming & Obon in Amory Park,
across from Museum’s main entrance
from 2-3:45 pm. Featuring Odaiko New
England and obon dancing with middle
school students from Ota, Salem’s sister
city in Tokyo Japan. This coincides with
PEM exhibits include Stage Idols, Japanese
Kabuki Theater (through 01.25.09) as well
as Chinese, Korean, Indian, and Native
American art. For more information
www.pem.org/events or call toll
free 866.745.1876 or 978.745.9500.

Event: 05.03.08-07.20.08
Art Exhibit at the Fuller Craft Museum in
Brockton, MA
Folded Light, Folded Shadow Paper Relief by Nishimura
Yuko. A showcase of a young contemporary artist’s
complex art of folding paper. For information call
508.588.6000 or www.fullercraft.org.

Event: 07.17.08-07.20.08
Black Ships Festival in Newport, RI
Festivities will include sumo wrestling, Japanese
films, tea tastings, a Japanese Anime Festival, sushi
demonstrations, and a taiko drum concert. Featured
on Saturday will be an Arts & Crafts Fair with scheduled
demonstrations and workshops on aikido, calligraphy,
origami, kite & pinwheel making, koto & shamisen player,
kimono demonstration and many other Japanese arts,
crafts and healing practices. A Japanese Market will be
featured on Sunday. For tickets and information on locations,
times and dates of all events call 401.846.2720 or
www.BlackShipsFestival.com.

Event: 05.17.08
The First Asian American Pacific Islander
Presidential Town Hall Meeting
Asian Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote)
will telecast a town hall meeting from the Bren
Events Center, University of California at Irvine.
APIAVote has invited Senator Hillary Clinton,
Senator Barack Obama, and Senator John McCain
to attend and discuss issues and policies important
to AAPI communities.

The Institute for Asian American Studies will broadcast
this event live:
Location: UMass Boston, Campus Center, 3/F, Room
3540
Time: May 17th, 2008 from 7 pm to 10 pm

Event: 05.02.08
APA Month to Be Celebrated At the State
House
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month will be
celebrated at the State House in Boston from 11:30
a.m. to 1 p.m. The event will feature information on
community groups and free gourmet Asian food.
This year's theme is "Engaging Asian Pacific American
in the Presidential Campaign and Election."
RSVP to Trisiawati Bantacut at tbantacut@asiancdc.org
or (617) 482-2380 ext 207 no later than April 24.

Event: 04.17.08-04.25.08
Ipswich Reads... One Book!
This April, the Ipswich Public Library is hosting
events related to Japanese Internment, including a
book discussion of Julie Otsuka novel When the
Emperor Was Divine. For more information:
Ipswich Public Library

The following dates feature New England JACL
Board Members:
04.17.08 (7 p.m.) Internment in Our Time: A Legal
Perspective with Carl Takei
04.23.08 (7 p.m.) Nisei Americans Who Fought in
World War II with Susumu Ito
04.25.08 (2 p.m.) Women in Camps: A Panel
Discussion with Margie Yamamoto and May Takayanagi  

Event: 04.21.08
Taiko Drumming
There will be performance the Odaiko New England
taiko drumming group at the John F. Kennedy
Presidential Library in Boston on Patriots Day. The
New England JACL has a limited number of tickets
for members to be distributed on a first come basis.
Please contact Ken Oye at oye@nejacl.org
for tickets. This event will be followed by an informal
lunch at the museum cafe and tour of the JFK
Library.

Event: 03.29.08
Tamagawa University Dance and Taiko Group
at the Peabody Essex Museum
A traditional Japanese dance and Taiko group will
be performing from 1-4 p.m. at the Peabody Essex
Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. For more information:
Peabody Essex Museum

News: 03.22.08
The New England JACL Board met on March 22, 2008
and several upcoming events have been added.

Event: 02.24.08    [Event Flyer]
Internment Art Visit to the Internment Art
Exhibit @ The University of Connecticut
"Art of Gaman" Art and Crafts from the Internment
Camps (1942 - 1946)
William Benton Museum of Art
245 Glenbrook Road, Unit 2140
Storrs, CT
(Art exhibit runs from 01.22.08-03.30.08)

The NEJACL is planning a group visit to this
exhibit on 02.24.08. The group will depart Boston
at 10 am. If interested please contact Margie Yamamoto:
yamamoto@nejacl.org or call 781.259.9444.

News: 02.27.08
The New England JACL recently held the annual Day
of Remembrance, as well as an event at the Gaman
Art Exhibit (Internment Art) at the University of
Connecticut. Pictures and a write up soon to follow
on the Gallery page.

Event: 02.19.08    [Event Website]
Tufts University Day of Remembrance 
“The Japanese American Internment:  A Granddaughter’s
Perspective” 4:30-6:30 p.m., Sophia Gordon Multipurpose
Room

Amy Lee-Tai, author of the children’s book A
Place Where Sunflowers Grow, will speak about
her book, which is based on her mother and grandparents’
experiences at the Topaz internment camp, where
her grandparents taught art classes. Dinner provided.

Event: 02.09.08    [Event Flyer]
Day of Remembrance 2008
The annual NEJACL Day of Remembrance will be held
on February 9, 2008 at 3 PM in MIT BldgE38 (292 Main St.,
Cambridge, MA), 6th Floor Conference Room. This
location is accessible via the Kendall Square Red Line T
Stop. Refreshments will be served. Click here for directions.

The film "Lost Village of Terminal Island" will be shown,
which tells the story of a pre-war Japanese fishing village's
forced evacuation and internment and their return after the war.

The Day of Remembrance marks the signing of
Executive Order 9066 in 1942 which forcibly incarcerated
more than 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry into U.S.
concentration camps during World War II.

News: 01.26.08
The NEJACL Board met on January 22, 2008 and
several upcoming events have been listed below.
Click here for the February 2008 NEJACL newsletter.

News: 01.22.08
Next New England JACL Board Meeting
Tuesday, January 22, 2008 at 7 p.m.

News: 01.10.08
Japanese American Association of New York Scholarship:
Available to graduate students attending a university in
the NY area for the 2008-2009 school year. For complete
info on this, please look at our scholarships at:
Students Page.

News: 10.23.07
Japanese American Veterans Association Scholarship:
Terry Shima, Executive Director of the Japanese American
Veterans Association (JAVA), has asked for JACL's assistance
in spreading the word about scholarships which are now
available through JAVA.

For complete info on this, please look at our scholarships at:
Students Page.

News: 09.16.07
NEJACL member Mari Oye personally challenged
President Bush on his violation of civil rights and use
of torture. While visiting the White House to receive the
Presidential Scholars medal in June, she and others
drafted and handed to the president a letter calling on
him to reject torture and treat terrorism suspects
humanely. Their endevor was reported in the New York
Times, Boston Globe, and several other news outlets.

For complete info on this, please look at our Gallery Page.

Event: 10.13.07
Boston Asian Students Intercollegiate Conference (BASIC)
at Harvard University

During the fifth annual network fair, college
students from around New England will be able to
learn more about groups, including the JACL, that
promote greater awareness of Asian Pacific American
issues. New England JACL will have a booth to raise
awareness about our organization. For more
information, go to: BASIC's Website

News: 08.19.07
Welcome to the new website for the New England chapter
of the Japanese American Citizen's League (JACL). The JACL
is America's oldest and largest Asian civil rights organization.
More information on events and board meetings coming soon.

For more information please e-mail: newengland@jacl.org