Japanese American Citizens League

In 1929, several already-established Nisei organizations merged to form the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), most prominent among them Fresno's {{Nihongo|American Loyalty League|アメリカ忠誠協会|Amerika Chūsei Kyōkai}}(headed by Nisei UC educated dentist Dr. Thomas T. Yatabe, 1897–1977), the {{Nihongo|Seattle Progressive Citizens League|シアトル革新市民連盟|Siatoru Kakushin Shimin Renmei}}, and the San Francisco-based {{Nihongo|New American Citizens League|新アメリカ市民協会|Shin Amerika Shimin Kyōkai}} (headed by Nisei UC educated lawyer Saburo Kido, 1902–1977). Aiming towards professionals and small business owners among the Nisei, the JACL sought to promote free enterprise, self-reliance, and loyalty to the United States. The organization thus excluded a hyphen from its name.{{sfn|Takaki|1998|pp=222–224}}

Due in part to the active support of James Sakamoto and other Seattle activists,{{Cite book| last = Miyamoto | first = Shotaro Frank | title = Social Solidarity Among the Japanese in Seattle | publisher = University of Washington Press| year = 1984 | page=xix| isbn = 978-0295961514}} the nascent JACL chose to hold its first national conference in Seattle in 1930.JACL. [http://www.jacl.org/about/jacl-history.htm "History of the Japanese American Citizens League"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228151428/http://www.jacl.org/about/jacl-history.htm |date=February 28, 2014 }} (accessed February 14, 2014) It soon after began work to expand the citizenship rights of Japanese and other Asian Americans, who were considered unassimilable to American society and therefore ineligible for naturalization under the Immigration Act of 1924. Their first target was the Cable Act of 1922, which revoked the citizenship of women who married men ineligible for citizenship, namely Asian immigrants.{{cite book |title=Nisei: the Quiet Americans|publisher=William Morrow & Company |location=New York |last=Hosokawa |first=Bill |authorlink=Bill Hosokawa|year=1969|page=199|isbn=978-0688050139}} After a successful lobbying campaign, Congress amended the act in 1931. Next, the JACL began a campaign to allow Issei and other Asian American veterans of the First World War to become U.S. citizens. In 1935, the Nye-Lea Act secured citizenship rights for these men.

The organization started with ten chapters in 1930, two in Washington, one Oregon, the rest in California. But eleven more had been formed by 1932 and in 1935 the JACL claimed 42 chapters, still almost entirely on the west coast but now including small towns and cities in the agricultural valleys, reflecting the mostly rural distribution of the Japanese American population before World War II. By 1940, there were 53 chapters including a few in Idaho, Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. But none in Hawaii.{{Cite web |title=Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) History and Geography 1929-1970 – Mapping American Social Movements |url=https://depts.washington.edu/moves/JACL_map.shtml |access-date=May 3, 2025 |website=depts.washington.edu}}

{{Further|Internment of Japanese Americans}}

In 1941, within hours of the Imperial Japanese Navy's attack on Pearl Harbor, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began arresting Japanese American community leaders (mostly Issei Japanese language school teachers, priests, martial arts instructors, and business owners).Densho. [http://encyclopedia.densho.org/history#arrest "About the Incarceration: Arrests of Community Leaders"] (accessed February 14, 2014) Members of the JACL testified at government hearings to promote a picture of Nisei as loyal and patriotic Americans, an effort to counteract rumors of fifth column activity that had spread in the wake of Pearl Harbor. At the same time, the JACL aided FBI and Naval Intelligence officials to identify potentially disloyal Issei, a move many Japanese Americans argued tried to buy political safety for a small segment of the community at the expense of its more vulnerable members.{{cite book |last=Spickard |first=Paul |date=1996 |title=Japanese Americans, the Formation and Transformations of an Ethnic Group |publisher=Twayne Publishers |pages=[https://archive.org/details/japaneseamerican00spic/page/95 95] |isbn=0-8057-9242-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/japaneseamerican00spic/page/95 }}

When President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, JACL leadership did not question the constitutionality of the exclusion of Japanese Americans from the West Coast. Instead, arguing it would better serve the community to follow government orders without protest, the organization advised the approximately 120,000 affected to go peacefully and distanced itself from those who actively opposed the order. In an interview after the war, civil rights attorney Wayne M. Collins criticized these actions of the JACL. "The JACL pretended to be the spokesman for all Japanese Americans, but they wouldn't stand up for their people ... They led their people like a bunch of goddam doves to the concentration camps."{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/yearsofinfamyunt00wegl |title=Years of Infamy: The Untold Story of America's Concentration Camps |publisher=William Morrow & Company |location=New York |last=Weglyn |first=Michi Nishiura|authorlink=Michi Weglyn |year=1976 |page=255|isbn=978-0688079963}}

Throughout the war, the JACL made efforts to ensure some measure of protection and comfort for Japanese Americans resettling outside government concentration camps, providing loans and establishing offices in Chicago to assist families resettling in the Midwest. The organization argued for the right of Japanese Americans to serve in the U.S. military. In Hawaii, where at that time the JACL did not exist, many community leaders actively supported for men of Japanese descent to serve in the military resulting in the formation of the 100th Infantry Battalion ,http://encyclopedia.densho.org/100th%20Infantry%20Battalion/ {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2022}} and the 442nd Regiment Combat Team, when 10,000 signed up with eventually 2,686 being chosen to join the 1,500 from the mainland.http://encyclopedia.densho.org/442nd%20Regimental%20Combat%20Team/ {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2022}}

{{Further|Japanese American redress and court cases}}

Following the war, the JACL began to rebuild. In 1945, only 23 chapters remained, nearly all located away from the West Coast. In 1946, as internees struggled to return only to find that pre-war Japanese communities were gone and mostly could not be restored, JACL chapters reappeared in the major West Coast cities, totally 39. By 1950, many of the earlier chapters had been reactivated, bring the total to 80. From then until 1970, the list of chapters remained fairly constant, still concentrated in the West, but with important chapters in the big cities of the Midwest and East Coast. {{Cite web |title=Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) History and Geography 1929-1970 – Mapping American Social Movements |url=https://depts.washington.edu/moves/JACL_map.shtml |access-date=May 3, 2025 |website=depts.washington.edu}}

In the late 1940s, the JACL began a long series of legislative efforts to establish rights for Japanese Americans. The JACL embarked on a campaign to repeal California's Alien Land Law, which had prohibited all Japanese aliens (i.e. immigrants) from purchasing and owning land in the state.{{cite web | last = Grant | first = Nicole | title=White Supremacy and the Alien Land Laws of Washington State|publisher=Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project|url=https://depts.washington.edu/civilr/alien_land_laws.htm| year=2008}} In 1948, the JACL succeeded in gaining passage of the Evacuation Claims Act, the first of a series of efforts to rectify the losses and injustices of the World War II incarceration. In 1949, the JACL initiated efforts in the U.S. Congress to gain the right of Japanese immigrants to become naturalized citizens of the U.S.{{cite web |first = Cherstin M. | last = Lyon| url = https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Japanese_American_Citizens_League/ | title = Japanese American Citizens League | publisher = Densho | access-date = November 26, 2022}}

In 1970, the JACL endorsed a resolution, introduced by member Edison Uno, to urge Congress to compensate each camp survivor for each day they had spent in confinement.{{cite web|last=Yang |first=Alice |url=http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Redress%20movement/ |title= Redress movement |publisher=Densho Encyclopedia |access-date=9 January 2022}} Later, in 1979, the JACL's National Committee for Redress proposed the creation of a federal commission to investigate the incarceration. The following year, the JACL, with help from Senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga, pushed a bill through Congress to create the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC).{{cite web|last=Yamato |first=Sharon |url=http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Commission_on_Wartime_Relocation_and_Internment_of_Civilians/ |title=Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians |publisher=Densho Encyclopedia |access-date=9 January 2022}} In 1983, the CWRIC published its findings and recommended an official Government apology and redress payments to survivors. This was granted with the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 and signed by President Ronald Reagan.{{cite web|title=Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians|url=http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Commission_on_Wartime_Relocation_and_Internment_of_Civilians/|publisher=Densho Encyclopedia|accessdate=2022-01-09}}

In 1994, at its national convention, the JACL passed a resolution affirming its commitment to and support of the basic human right of marriage, including the right to marry for same-sex couples.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}} In 2012, the JACL was the first national civil rights membership organization to publicly and actively adopt this position, and praised President Barack Obama for his support for same-sex marriage.{{cite news |url=http://www.rafu.com/2012/05/jacl-praises-obama-for-stance-on-gay-marriage/|title=JACL Praises Obama for Stance on Same-Sex Marriage}}{{Cite web |date=2012-05-16 |title=JACL Praises Obama for Stance on Gay Marriage |url=http://rafu.com/2012/05/jacl-praises-obama-for-stance-on-gay-marriage/ |access-date=2023-05-29 |website=The Rafu Shimpo |language=en-US}}

Since 2022, the JACL has championed the cause of reparations for slavery.{{Cite web |title=JACL Joins 76 Japanese and Asian American Organizations in Calling on President Biden to Establish Presidential Commission to Study Black Reparations |url=https://jacl.org/statements/jacl-joins-76-japanese-and-asian-american-organizations-in-calling-on-president-biden-to-establish-presidential-commission-to-study-black-reparations |access-date=2023-08-03 |website=JACL |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last= |date=2021-07-23 |title=Japanese American Activists Demand Reparations For Black Americans |url=https://laist.com/news/japanese-american-activists-call-for-reparations-for-black-americans-hr-40 |access-date=2023-08-03 |website=LAist |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2022-01-13 |title='Because we know it is possible': Japanese Americans join fight for reparations |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/-know-possible-japanese-americans-join-fight-reparations-rcna11256 |access-date=2023-08-03 |website=NBC News |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2023-06-07 |title=Inspired by Black Leaders, Japanese Americans Got Reparations After WWII |url=https://www.kqed.org/news/11952398/inspired-by-black-leaders-japanese-americans-got-reparations-after-wwii |access-date=2023-08-03 |website=KQED |language=en-us}} In addition to endorsing local proposals for reparations, JACL has demanded the Biden administration begin the process of studying federal reparations for African Americans. JACL representatives testified in favor of the creation of the Philadelphia Reparations Task Force.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2023-06-23 |title=Philadelphia joins several other cities and states exploring reparations |url=https://www.phillytrib.com/news/local_news/philadelphia-joins-several-other-cities-and-states-exploring-reparations/article_475f223f-fb82-566a-b12d-1bb28d8c6455.html |access-date=2023-08-03 |website=The Philadelphia Tribune |language=en}}

The Bridging Communities Program brings youth from the Japanese and Asian American community together with Muslim and Arab American youth. High school students attend workshops on identity, community, organizing, culture, and empowerment. The program involves visits to the Tule Lake Relocation Center, Manzanar, and Minidoka National Historic Site concentration camps, which first confined Japanese Americans during World War II. The Bridging Communities program is funded by a grant from the National Park Service.{{When|date=January 2022}}

Organizational partners include the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Tule Lake Pilgrimage Committee, the National Japanese American Historical Society, Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress, Kizuna, and Friends of Minidoka.{{cite news|url=http://www.jaclpsw.org/index.php/programs/bridging-communities|title=About the Bridging Communities Program|access-date=May 24, 2013|archive-date=September 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926110232/http://jaclpsw.org/index.php/programs/bridging-communities|url-status=dead}}

This three-day annual leadership training summit is a joint program organized by the JACL which includes participants from OCA National (formerly the Organization of Chinese Americans). Workshop topics range from coalition building techniques to the strategy of successful lobbying.

The JACL's Youth Leadership Summit was first established in 2010 and has been held annually in Chicago, Portland, and Washington DC.{{cite news|url=http://www.jacl.org/documents/11-23-10NYSC_Youth_Summit.pdf |title=JACL Hosts First National Youth Leadership Summit }} {{dead link|date=April 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

The JACL launched a National Scholarship and Awards Program in 1946. It offer scholarships to students at the entering freshman, undergraduate, graduate, law, financial need and creative & performing arts. All scholarships are one-time awards.{{cite news|url=http://www.jacl.org/edu/scholar.htm |title=JACL Scholarships |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615014730/http://www.jacl.org/edu/scholar.htm |archive-date=June 15, 2013 }}

JACL National and film producer Lane Nishikawa are working together to create a documentary of the 90 years of history since the foundation of the JACL. Nishikawa intends for the documentary to "chronicle the history of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), the oldest and largest Asian American civil rights organization in the U.S."{{cite web | url=https://jacl.org/the-league-of-dreams | title=The League of Dreams - Documentary of the JACL }} The project has received a grant of $165,000 from the Japanese American Confinement Sites (JACS) and a grant award of $25,000 through the assistance of the San Diego Chapter JACL.

JACL's Anti-Hate Program was created in response to the increased rates of Asian American hate crimes and anti-Asian sentiments following COVID-19. The JACL states that they aim to "eradicate the use of negative stereotypes and misperceptions about Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. To accomplish this, the JACL monitors and combats hate crimes and hate incidents including defamation and racial/ethnic profiling."{{Cite web |date=2023-11-03 |title=Anti-Hate Program |url=https://jacl.org/antihate-program |access-date=2023-11-28 |website=JACL |language=en-US}} The site lists resources in response to anti-Asian sentiment and hate crimes, state hate crime laws, and responses to hate.

The first JACL National Convention was held on August 29, 1930, in Seattle, Washington. The first post World War II National JACL Convention was held in Denver, Colorado. Adoption of a 14-point program of rebuilding which included Issei naturalization, reparations for discriminatory treatment during the war, re-examination of the constitutionality of the evacuation, stay of deportation on hardship cases involving Japanese nationals, a call for a national conference of minorities, elimination of racial discrimination in housing and employment, challenge of the alien land laws, creation of a research clearinghouse on the evacuation, and assistance of returning Nisei veterans.

The 1970 JACL convention was marred by the murder of Evelyn Okubo, an 18-year-old activist and attendee, by a black man. Nevertheless, the JACL continued its commitment to racial justice for all Americans, including African-Americans.{{cite book|last1=Harden|first1=Jacelyn|title=Double Cross: Japanese Americans in Black and White Chicago|date=2003|publisher=University of Minnesota Press|location=Minneapolis|isbn=9781452905969|page=[https://archive.org/details/doublecrossjapan00hard_0/page/128 128]|url=https://archive.org/details/doublecrossjapan00hard_0|url-access=registration|access-date=13 September 2017}}

The 2013 JACL National Convention was held July 24–26, 2013, in Washington, DC. The theme for the 44th convention was "Justice for All".

As of 2022, the JACL is headquartered in San Francisco's Japantown neighborhood, directly neighboring the offices of the Japanese American Association of Northern California (Hokka Nichi Bei Kai /北加日米会), which describes itself as the oldest Japanese American Community organization (founded in 1895).{{Cite web|title=Hokka Nichi Bei Kai 北加日米会|url=http://www.nichibeikai.org/|access-date=2022-01-09}}

The JACL also maintains an office in Washington DC, and (as of 2022) has over 100 chapters in the US, organized into seven district counciles: Central California District Council, Eastern District Council, Intermountain District Council, Midwest District Council, Northern California-Western Nevada-Pacific District Council, Pacific Northern District Council, and Pacific Southwest District Council.

The JACL did not exist in Hawaii during the years prior to and after World War II; a chapter was finally established in 1980.{{Cite web|title=About Us|url=http://www.jaclhonolulu.org/about/}}

{{More citations needed section|date=January 2022}}

• Frank Chuman
• Gordon Hirabayashi
• Mike Honda
• Chris Iijima
• Saburo Kido
• Mike Masaoka
• Doris Matsui
• Robert Matsui
• Spark Matsunaga
• Stan Matsunaka
• Norman Mineta
• Evelyn Okubo
• James Y. Sakamoto{{Cite web|title=Sakamoto, James (1903-1955)|url=http://www.historylink.org/File/2050|access-date=2022-01-09|website=www.historylink.org}}
• Charles Z. Smith{{cite web |url=http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/smith.htm |title=Charles Z. Smith |work=Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project |publisher=University of Washington |access-date=21 September 2015 }}
• Ina Sugihara
• George Takei
• Grayce Uyehara
• George Yuzawa

{{Portal|Japan|United States}}

• Pacific Citizen
• Japanese Americans
• Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project
• Japanese American Committee for Democracy
• Japanese American National Library
• Japanese American National Museum
• Japanese American Museum of San Jose
• Japan–United States relations
• Anti-Japanese sentiment in the United States
• Consulate-General of Japan, San Francisco
• U.S.-Japan Council

{{Reflist}}

• Bill Hosokawa, JACL in Quest of Justice (Morrow, 1982).
• {{cite book|last=Takaki|first=Ronald|title=Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans|url=https://archive.org/details/strangersfromdif0000taka|edition=Revised and updated|year=1998|orig-year=1989|place=New York|publisher=Back Bay Books|isbn=978-0-316-83130-7|oclc=80125499}}

{{Commons category|Japanese American Citizens League}}

• [http://www.jacl.org/ Website for national organization]
• [http://www.berkeleyjacl.org/ Berkeley chapter]
• [http://www.nejacl.org/ New England chapter]
• [http://www.pdxjacl.org/ Portland, Oregon chapter]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20130709023616/http://www.twincitiesjacl.org/ Twin Cities chapter]
• [http://jacl-ny.org/ New York chapter]
• [https://depts.washington.edu/moves/JACL_map.shtml/ Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) History and Geography 1929-1970 - Mapping American Social Movements]

{{Authority control}}

Category:Japanese diaspora in the United States

Category:Internment of Japanese Americans

Category:Japanese-American organizations

Category:Non-profit organizations based in California

Category:Organizations established in 1929