Click on the image below to view our latest newsletter. See what we were up to over the summer and our exciting events for the months to come.
By Phil Shigekuni, Civil Rights Chair
On Saturday, August 10, 2014, I marched in the Nisei Week parade. Our Chapter was part of the Pacific Southwest District, and to my knowledge, it was the first time the district had participated in the event. Harold Kameya, our chapter president, organized our part in the parade, from recruiting marchers to even having the signs we carried made up. Carrying our PSW District JACL banner was Stephanie Nitahara, our regional director. I was one of the sign carriers trailing the banner. My sign indicated my membership in the Asian American & Pacific Islander Christians for Social Justice and on the reverse of my sign was printed “SGV API-PFLAG” (San Gabriel Valley Asian Pacific Islander Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) I felt indebted to Harold for getting all of us marching together in support of an enlightened acceptance of LGBTQ peoples: Supportive JACL chapters, enlightened Christian groups and churches, LGBTQ advocate groups, as well as the Manzanar Committee. To their credit, 20 years ago, National JACL passed a resolution at their national convention in support of equal marriage, the first civil rights organization to take this step. EDITORS NOTE: Phil’s article in its entirety can be found at the Rafu Shimpo. From the Desk of Harold Kameya, Chapter President... During my two-year commitment to serve as president of our chapter, I would like to have us work toward making our SFV JACL chapter more attractive and beneficial to young adults especially. The use of an email blast of miscellaneous news items is a means for young and old members to share ideas. It will be sent out on an as needed basis. It would complement our bi-monthly newsletter, and include articles of a time-critical nature, articles too lengthy for our newsletter, and links to interesting news items on the internet. Members are encouraged to send articles or news items of interest to the general membership to me, or to Nancy Gohata, our newsletter editor. Today, we all suffer from information overload. With dozens of newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and news blogs appearing daily, we often are not aware of important information, or have time to read them. But imagine life having many sets of eyes looking for such articles! Your eyes can help us all! Articles of general interest to our chapter members may include the following: - Links to important or interesting civil rights, educational and cultural articles in the Rafu Shimpo, LA Times, etc. - Links to significant news items culled from weekly emails, such as from 'NPR Top emailed stories of the Week' or Time magazine's 'Times Top 10 news stories of the Week', Densho, Discover Nikkei, etc. - Writer’s corner to showcase works of members such as Patty Takayama, Kristel Yoneda, etc. - Food reviews of places of interest to young adults, especially. - New trends or items in technology, such as the Fit Bit devices to improve health awareness. For those seniors without internet access today: Computer tablets provide a somewhat painless method to access information and entertainment. Computer tablets allow people to download library books (including audio books), watch movies, hear TED Talks, explore the unlimited boundaries of youtube, and much more! At some point in the future, we might all lose the ability to drive, or we might be confined to a wheelchair or bed. The computer tablet will then become a primary window to the world! Costco has a 7" Samsung computer tablet ($160) that provides access to the internet without having to learn strange new things on personal computers, such as CTL-ALT-DEL. The Pacific Citizen Holiday Ad Fundraiser is our chapter’s main vehicle to raise monies for our programs. We began in 2005, selling 52 ads to people in the business community and personal ads to members and friends. Last year was our all time high, selling 147 ads. We must also thank the many people who helped us during this fund drive with monetary donations.
We are proud in bringing an array of programs to our community and supporting organizations whose mission is in the area of civil rights and cultural awareness. By placing a holiday greeting ad in the PC Holiday Issue, you are also supporting the Pacific Citizen, the national newspaper of the JACL. A good percentage of your ad monies goes directly to Pacific Citizen, the only national vernacular that brings Japanese American related news to you. We are asking all members to purchase a personal ad for the holiday issue. You can also help solicit ads from business places you frequent. Monetary donations are always welcomed. Please contact the following Members for a PC Holiday Ad form: Mitzi Kushida: bighisa "at" aol.com Nancy Gohata: yaiko16 "at" verizon.net Barbara Okita: barbokt "at" aol.com Marion Shigekuni: pshig2000 "at" yahoo.com WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT! Our chapter has been an active supporter for redress for "comfort women," or women sexually exploited by Japan's imperial military during World War II. Our chapter was mentioned in this article by KPCC's Josie Huang on a recent lawsuit to remove a memorial to the comfort women in Glendale. To learn more about formal resolution in support of the monument, click here.
Chapter member Marsha Aizumi was recently honored with the "JA of the Biennium" Award for distinguished service by the National JACL. Marsha has been involved with our chapter for a few years and is a passionate ally in the LGBT movement, having raised a wonderful transgendered son. She captured their experiences in her book, Two Spirits, One Heart, which is an important resource for anyone interested in the dynamics of parents, children, and sexuality. To learn more about Marsha's timely work, click here.
Cheers, Marsha! We're very proud of you! By LOUISE FONUA
Sustainability and having access to healthy foods are a few of the social justice issues that I am passionate about because being sustainable is a basic right for humanity. Surrounded by a galore of fast food chains and Liquor stores are a few reasons why I am interested in social justice issues such as sustainability and food justice because these fast food restaurants are contaminating the health of my community. Living in a community where access to healthy foods is either unavailable or over priced has made me realize that not only is this a health issue, but an environmental health issue as well. Having only one grocery store that sells decent fruits and vegetables is very upsetting because the prices for “healthy” food are inflated. Realizing that the access to healthy foods was not available is when I realized the importance of community gardens in the Tongan community. Having a community garden is a great way to refrain from purchasing fruits and vegetables from large producers such as Ralphs and Whole Foods. Having a community garden in the Tongan community is more than just planting a seed and watching it grow. It allows the Tongan community to be sustainable while having access to healthy foods and it gives the Tongan community a sense of home, voice and a place to call their own. The JACL-PSW Local Leaders Program will provide me with the necessary skills to be a community leader for my Pacific Islander community. Through the JACL-PSW Local Leaders Program, I hope to gain a better understanding of what it means to make a difference in a community by becoming a leader. I hope to increase my knowledge of what a community leader is through the JACL-PSW Local Leaders Program and testimonies of other community leaders. I also hope to gain a sense of understanding of how one becomes an effective leader in the community. Coming from an underrepresented and marginalized community, this opportunity will assist me in bringing vital networks to the Tongan community. Through the JACL-PSW Local Leaders Program, it will allow me to plant seeds of hope for present and future generations and watch them grow into future community leaders. Note: This is the personal statement Ms. Fonua prepared for the Local Leaders Internship application. We're ho Our chapter is participating in the JACL Pacific Southwest District's Local Leaders Internship Program, which trains talented young people to become social justice advocates for our communities. Our chapter is proud to sponsor Ms. Louise Fonua, a California State University, Northridge graduate who comes to us with an extensive background in health and food justice issues.
You can read more about Louise's thoughts on sustainability, food justice, and community gardening at this blog post. Here is Louise, second from right and next to PSW leader Kanji Sahara, with other interns and Rep. Mike Honda at the latest National JACL Convention. Click below to view our latest newsletter. Some articles and updates include.... SFVJACL sponsors API Obesity Prevention Alliance's $1000 for “Bike to Japan” by traci ishigo A Swinging Big Band Concert by Keiko Linda Kuratomi Exploring the Asian American Community by Patricia Takayama We have also sorts of other updates on our members including graduations, scholarships, and more! I attended my first Pacific Southwest District Meeting on Sunday, May 18th, and found it an interesting experience. There are 29 chapters in the Pacific Southwest District, and those unable to attend are asked to have proxies authorized to vote in their absence. The meeting was presided by Gov. David Kawamoto and his wife Carol, the Vice Governor, who drove up from San Diego. Chapter leaders attended from as far as Las Vegas and Arizona. During the lunch break, candidates for the next 2-year term were allowed to speak. Mr. David Lim, current national president, gave an impressive talk of the organization and during a question, indicated JACL’s critical need for a Development Director which was being addressed in next year’s budget. Secretary Gary Mayeda, ably handled the technical details of Skype to allow candidates from the east coast and Midwest to be able to address us and see us! The issues facing the affirmative action amendment, SCA-5 were presented by Kanji Sahara. I have requested a copy of the slides presented as they contained information of interest to us all. Phil Shigekuni and Yukio Kawaratani discussed the resolution forwarded by our SFV chapter, and the modifications suggested by Andy Noguchi and the Florin chapter. Ultimately, Yukio Kawaratani requested that we withdraw the resolution, and the ad hoc committee which included Barbara Takei, historian of Tule Lake, agreed that more ground work needed to be done before any resolution on the issue was brought to the national convention floor. Phil and I agree that a greater understanding of the Tule Lake Segregation Center is needed for current and future JACL members. Education remains a goal for all of us that worked together on the resolution. A new experience for the SFV chapter will working together with an intern resulting from PSW’s new Local Leaders program! Ms. Louise Fonua will be meeting us at the June meeting and will be working with us for the next three months! Sincerely, Harold Kameya Pre |