Nominations are now being taken for the Kay Okamoto Volunteer Award and the Takeo Okamoto Community Leadership Award.   Kay and Takeo Okamoto are the parents of the San Mateo's JACL President, Steve Okamoto.  Both awards are presented in memory of Kay and Takeo Okamoto, who devoted themselves to making our community stronger.

JACL ANNOUNCES SENATOR AKAKA AND VETERANS AS GALA AWARDEES
For a hard copy of the Press Release click here.
 
Washington, D.C. --  The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), the oldest and largest Asian American civil and human rights organization in the nation, will honor Japanese American veterans at its Third National JACL Gala to be held in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, September 17, 2009.  The event will be a Salute to Veterans and will recognize veterans' organizations which have been serving veterans well.  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.

June 19, 2009

CONTACT:  FLOYD MORI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR; (202) 223-1240 or NatDir@jacl.org
 
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT
Let your voice be heard-sign the petition today!

     Since the late 1800's, Asians have immigrated to the United States with hopes of building a better life. These early immigrants moved to this great nation to flee religious persecution, escape economic adversity, and for a chance for their families to be reunited and contribute to their new home. Today's immigrants desire to come to the United States for the same reasons as our Asian ancestors. They come here equipped with a desire to be with their loved ones and a confidence in all the endless opportunities America has to offer.   

On May 26, 2009, the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, which prohibits gay marriage.  However, the decision held that the same-sex marriages performed between the justices’ ruling last May--that same-sex marriage was constitutionally protected--and voters’ passage in November of Proposition 8.  The court stated that that same-sex couples still had a right to civil unions and that such unions gives those couples the ability to “choose one’s life partner and enter with that person into a committed, officially recognized and protected family relationship that enjoys all of the constitutionally based incidents of marriage.”

Bulletin Topics:

*Postal Service maintains annual stance on internal guideline; Campaign to continue
*Congressman Mike Honda sends second Congressional letter of support for the proposal - Please ask your representatives and senators to sign by this Friday, May 22nd!
*Seattle Nisei Veterans Committee (NVC) Fundraiser Information

Postal Service maintains annual stance on internal guideline at April stamp meeting; Campaign to continue

         On May 6, 2009, the United States Army reported that that it would not proceed in its efforts to retry 1st Lt. Ehren Watada on three charges for refusing to deploy to Iraq in 2006: one charge of missing his Stryker brigade unit's movement to Iraq, and two specifications of conduct unbecoming an officer for taking part in a press conference and participating in a Veterans for Peace convention.  However, there is a legal question as to what the current status of the two originally dismissed charges are -- i.e. whether they can be refiled against Lt. Watada, or whether they are barred by the double jeopardy clause along with the other three charges he was tried for. 

     In honor of a man who became a civil rights icon for defying the mass internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, the Asian Law Caucus officially launched the Fred T. Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education (http://fredkorematsu.org) at the organization’s annual event on Thursday, April 30, in San Francisco.

LOS ANGELES REGION: (click on the link: http://www.census.gov/rolax/www/2010Jobs.html)

Partnership Specialist (Hawaii County, Hawaii): Bilingual Hawaiian/English (two positions: one internal and the other external)

Partnership Specialist (Los Angeles County): Bilingual Japanese/English.
Partnership Specialist (Los Angeles County): Bilingual Russian/English

For Immediate Release

      WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye – who during World War II fought alongside Nisei soldiers from the mainland whose families were unjustly incarcerated in mass detention camps simply because of their ancestry – today introduced a bill to have the Secretary of the Interior conduct a study to determine if internment camp sites in Hawaii are eligible to be listed as historic sites under the National Park System.