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Founded in 1929, the JACL is the Nation’s oldest and largest Asian American civil rights organization The true test of the young organization came within
hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The FBI swooped down on the Japanese
American communities in the West Coast states and arrested elders identified
as leaders. The JACL was left with the unenviable task of confronting
a government intent on excluding and imprisoning the entire Japanese
American population. During the war years, the JACL continued its efforts to insure some measure of protection and comfort for Japanese Americans imprisoned in government detention camps. After the war, the JACL began an almost 50 year effort to rectify the wrongs that resulted from the WWII internment, and to win back the rights of Japanese Americans in general. These efforts eventually lead to the Civil Liberty Act of 1988, which provided monetary compensation and a formal Presidential apology to the victims of the WWII internment. The organization also played a vital role in establishing the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and gaining passage of both the Evacuation Claims Act and the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act. Born out of a need to address issues of discrimination against per-sons of Japanese ancestry residing in the United States, the JACL has expanded its mission to protect the civil and human rights of all Americans. In February 2003, the JACL joined 27 Asian Pacific American organizations in submitting an amicus curiae "friend of the court" brief supporting the University of Michigan's affirmative action programs. The Supreme Court upheld the University of Michigan's Law School's affirmative action program, which considers an applicant's race/ethnic background as one of numerous factors in the admissions decision process. As the Court state, "major American businesses have made clear that the skills needed in today's increasingly global marketplace can only be developed through exposure to widely diverse people, cultures, ideas, and viewpoints." The Court's message is clear: affirmative action programs promote, rather than deny, opportunities. Diversity on campuses and in the workplace builds strength and benefits not only to the students, but also all Americans. As the nation's oldest Asian American civil and human rights organization, the JACL continues to dedicate itself to preserving the rights of Asian Americans. At the same time, the JACL works to preserve the rights and well-being of others who fall victim to social injustice in the United States.
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