The 23rd Annual and First Virtual Freedom Walk will be held on Saturday, March 27, 2021 beginning at 3:00 PM EDT (login begins at 2:45 PM). The program, Spotlighting Our Significance, will feature Nen Daiko, the Embassy of Japan, the Honorable Norman Mineta and more. Following the formal program will be break out sessions and discussions about the history and importance of the National Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During World War II. Please register in advance, Meeting Registration – Zoom
PROGRAM DETAILS February 19 is the Day of Remembrance, the annual recognition of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 9066 and the subsequent incarceration of nearly 120,000 people of Japanese descent living mostly in Washington, Oregon, and California. To commemorate the thousands of people affected by this human rights abuse, our discussion this year features news anchor and filmmaker David Ono and his documentary series FACEism, which examines how racism is rooted in often ignored and painful histories.
“FACEism is when we make quick, often unfair, judgments about people we don’t even know, ignoring the fact there is so much more behind their face.” Panelists will consider episodes from the documentary series and explore community activists’ further discussions about history, accountability, and injustice in our past, present, and future. The episodes are: “FACEism: How COVID-19 is Resurfacing U.S. History Against Asian Americans”; “President Reagan’s Apology for the U.S. Internment [Incarceration] of Japanese Americans during World War II”.
Moderated by Modupe Labode, curator and public historian at the National Museum of American History. Panelists include David Ono, anchor for ABC7 Eyewitness News Los Angeles; Ann Burroughs, president and CEO at the Japanese American National Museum; Cheyenne Cheng, Norman Y. Mineta Fellow for the Japanese American Citizens League; and Matthew Weisbly, Daniel K. Inouye Fellow for the Japanese American Citizens League.
Co-Sponsors: Japanese American Citizens League; Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation; Japanese American National Museum; Japanese American Citizens League, DC Chapter; National Japanese American Memorial Foundation, and The National Park Service & Friends of Minidoka.
MODERATOR Modupe Labode is a public historian who has been at the National Museum of American History since August 2019. She works in two divisions—Political and Military History and Culture and Community Life—and her area of concentration is African American Social Justice History. Before coming to NMAH, she taught history, museum studies, and Africana Studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), where she was also a Public Scholar of African American History and Museums.
SPEAKERS David Ono is an anchor for ABC7 Eyewitness News, Los Angeles’s top-rated newscast, and an anchor for Eyewitness News on KDOC-TV. Since joining ABC7 in 1996, Ono has witnessed history worldwide, covering Hurricane Katrina, Haiti’s earthquake, and Japan’s tsunami. He traveled across Europe and Asia chronicling brave acts of Nisei soldiers from World War II. Ono has attended two royal weddings, tracked drug runners through Central America, reported live from Boston after the marathon bombing, and covered terrorism from Paris. Ono has trained with the FBI, the elite Los Angeles Sheriff’s SWAT team, ICE, and the Los Angeles Port Police. Three times President Barack Obama invited him to the White House, twice for interviews and once to speak on inclusion in America. Ono has also covered two papal selections and Pope Francis’s 2015 visit to the United States and 2016 visit to Mexico. He has produced multiple award-winning documentaries and has won eight Edward R. Murrow awards and 24 Emmys, among other honors.
Cheyenne Cheng is the current Norman Y. Mineta Fellow for the Japanese American Citizens League. Born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, she graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. During her time at UF, she led a task force in support of Asian American studies and co-founded the Asian American Oral History Project, which seeks to collect narratives of Asian Americans at UF and in the greater South. She serves on the national board for the East Coast Asian American Student Union as a mobilization coordinator, where she educates Asian American and Pacific Islander students across the East Coast through advocacy-based workshops and initiatives.
Matthew Weisbly is the current Daniel K. Inouye Fellow for the Japanese American Citizens League. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California. His senior honors thesis explored demographic data and oral histories of Nisei soldiers with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. In school, he was president of the Nikkei Student Union, vice president of the Mixed Race Student Community, part of the collegiate taiko group Kazan Taiko, and a part-time employee of the campus Asian Pacific American Student Services office. A longtime JACL member, he also served as the Youth Representative for the Arizona Chapter and as the inaugural Ted T. Namba Fellow for the Pacific Southwest District.
Ann Burroughs is the president and CEO of the Japanese American National Museum. She has over 25 years of experience in nonprofit leadership working with Amnesty International USA and other organizations such as Social Sector Partners, the Taproot Foundation, and LA Works. Burroughs has also consulted for the Rockefeller Foundation, HandsOn Network, and the government of her native South Africa, where she was a young anti-apartheid activist imprisoned for her activism.
The JACL DC Chapter is hosting a Virtual Mochitsuki on December 5 from 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. ET. Come join us for a fun-filled, Japanese American community event where people of all ages can gather together to enjoy each other’s company and share family traditions around the topic of Rice to Know You! Click here to register.
Robin Koda, co-owner/co-manager of Koda Farms (an almost century-old Japanese American family owned and operated rice farm in Central California) will share her interesting family history and the “scoop” on rice. Check out the Koda Farms recipes, including one for making mochi, if you want to enjoy some during our event.
You will receive links for a Zoom invitation and a RICE Bingo card after you register. The Bingo card can be printed or used virtually to play. A huge thank you to the Crafty Ladies who are providing the Bingo prizes!
We look forward to kicking off the holiday season by seeing old friends and making new ones virtually at this year’s Mochitsuki!
In the past, funds raised from this event helped to sustain JACL DC Chapter activities throughout the year, so we wish to thank you for your past support and generosity.
Donations
This year, we would like to support our essential workers, those who are food insecure, and local Asian restaurants who are hurting during the pandemic through Woks for Washington (WFW). WFW was started as a grassroots effort by two sisters who identified certain food needs in our community. All donations for WFW are used to purchase and deliver meals from local Asian restaurants to essential workers, homeless and emergency shelters, and others with limited access to freshly made meals. Gifts are tax deductible. If you wish to support those in need in our community during this challenging time, you can click here to donate to this cause. Add a Comment if you would like to reference the JACL DC Chapter. You can also donate by clicking on “Donations” when registering for this event, and your donation will be forwarded to WFW.
If you have questions about using Zoom, please contact Kim Hirose at Kimhirose@gmail.com.
As always, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at jaclwdc@gmail.com should you have any updates to share with the Chapter, suggestions for the board, or questions!
Higuchi, who is the associate executive director of legal and regulatory affairs for the American Psychological Association and the chair of the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, will talk with attendees about this deeply personal account of her family and the generational trauma that shaped her own life.
As children, Higuchi and her brothers knew Heart Mountain only as the place their parents met, imagining it as a great Stardust Ballroom in rural Wyoming. As they grew older, they would come to recognize the name as a source of great sadness and shame for their older family members, part of the generation of Japanese Americans forced into the hastily built concentration camp in the aftermath of Executive Order 9066.
Only after a serious cancer diagnosis did Shirley’s mother, Setsuko, share her vision for a museum at the site of the former camp, where she had been donating funds and volunteering in secret for many years. After Setsuko’s death, Shirley skeptically accepted an invitation to visit the site, a journey that would forever change her life and introduce her to a part of her mother she never knew.
The Zoom link, password, and call-in information for this event will only be shared with those registered for the event. Hope to see you there. Questions? Email jaclwdc@gmail.com
We hope you can join us for our first virtual annual Keiro Kai & Family Day on Saturday, Sept. 26!
This year, we are switching things up a bit and moving to a virtual Zoom event. Even though we’ll be online, we’re planning activities that will still hopefully keep the feel of the traditional event–activities that have the goal of getting to know our community better and enjoying each other’s company. For instance, one of our ice-breaker activities is encouraging attendees to bring a family artifact to show and tell, tying into the objective of the event–to celebrate family. The “family artifact” could include a photo, or something passed down from your parents or grandparents.
JACL DC Chapter member Julie Abo and DC Chapter Co-Vice President Linda Adams have compiled a list of the status of Asian markets and restaurants during the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. This list was updated on May 3–as this is a continuously evolving time, we would recommend contacting the business directly to double check business hours.
We know that this list is far from comprehensive. If you have a recommendation that you would like us to add, we would be happy to do so! If you could send us the relevant information (address, phone, updated hours, and any specific notes as it pertains to current operations), that would be much appreciated. You can send your recommendations to: jaclwdc@gmail.com
No website or online ordering, call with your sushi and/or grocery list & they will gather & bag. Arrange for pick up & pay time. Only 1-2 people in store at a time.
Hinode Restaurant 134 Congressional Lane Rockville, MD 20852
Join us for a DMV area Tsuru for Solidarity Fold-In this upcoming Saturday, March 7 from 7-9pm at Tawes Fine Arts Building on the University of Maryland Campus. The event–which will include a presentation by Tsuru for Solidarity‘s co-chair Satsuki Ina, group conversations regarding additional support that DMV groups can tackle, and folding origami cranes (“tsuru”)–is to help build momentum toward the “National Pilgrimage to Close the Camps,” taking place in Washington, D.C., from June 5 to 7. The June pilgrimage will feature a march, rally, taiko drumming, and the presentation of 125,000 tsuru that represent the 125,000 Japanese Americans affected by the camps. A unique feature of the pilgrimage will be cross-community, intergenerational “Healing Circles for Change” to promote solidarity and healing through sharing of stories about incarceration and detention.
We hope that you will be able to join us on Saturday, Feb. 22 at noon for our Chapter’s 73rd annual Installation Luncheon! Our keynote speaker this year is Shirley Ann Higuchi, Chair of the Heart Mountain Foundation, who will provide reflections on her upcoming book: Setsuko’s Secret: Heart Mountain and the Legacy of the Japanese American Incarceration.
We will be holding our luncheon at Meiwah Restaurant once again. Seats are $30 per person, which includes tax and gratuity. Please RSVP to jaclwdc@gmail.com by Feb. 20.
We hope that you will be able to join us for our Mochitsuki on Saturday, Dec. 14, as we have a full schedule of entertainment and activities–from the chance to purchase delightful handcrafted gifts by the Crafty Ladies to music by the JBE band to our traditional mochi pounding demonstration. And, of course, it’s a time to catch up with your DC Chapter friends, and hopefully make some new ones!
Delicious Japanese bentos (from local favorite, Tako Grill). Each bento order includes a bowl of homemade ozoni, dessert, and hot and cold drinks. Bento Options: Chicken Teriyaki, Salmon Teriyaki, and Vegetarian.
** Bentos often sellout and there will be a very limited number of extra bentos. Pre-ordering is strongly encouraged**
Fresh Mochi (from a Japanese confectioner): Two Types for Sale
Komochi (plain white mochi) and Daifuku (mochi with anko/sweet bean inside)
Pre-order Prices ~ Komochi ~ Members: $5 per 1/2 pound bag & Non-Members: $7 per 1/2 pound bag; Daifuku ~ Members: $8 per 1/2 pound bag & Non-Members: $10 per 1/2 pound bag
Walk-in Prices for both Members and Non-Members: Komochi ~ $7 per 1/2 pound bag; Daifuku ~ $10 per 1/2 pound bag
Crafty Ladies
The talented Crafty Ladies group will once again be selling their unique handcrafted gifts. Be ready to do some holiday shopping!
Friendly Reminder: Purchases are either by cash or check!
JBE Band Performance
We are delighted the JBE Band will be performing at our Mochitsuki again this year!
JBE Band members are talented musicians who work at the Embassy of Japan and Japanese corporations who are members of the Japan Commerce Association of Washington, DC.
Raffle
It is not a Mochitsuki without the famous Raffle! Support the DC Chapter while winning the chance at fabulous items.
Welcome Matthew Weisbly, JACL National’s new Daniel K. Inouye Fellow, to the JACL DC board! Coming from Phoenix, Arizona, via Los Angeles, Matthew recently completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Southern California with a degree in history. His senior thesis explored numerical data and oral histories of Nisei soldiers with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. A long-time JACL member, he also served as a Youth Representative for the Arizona Chapter and the inaugural Ted T. Namba fellow for the PSW district. Following his fellowship, he wants to return to school to get his PhD in history.
