2013 Emerging Leader Scholarship Award
Application Deadline: May 17, 2013
************************************************************************************************************************
Hawaii People’s Fund * JACL Honolulu Chapter * Kokua Kalihi Valley
Presents
THE LAND OF EB
Special Screening, Monday, March 11, 2013, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Doris Duke Theater, 900 S. Beretania Street, Honolulu
More info here
Shown at international film festivals in Hawaii (HIFF), Chicago and Toronto, this cinematic
feature was shot in Kailua Kona and Ocean View on the island of Hawaii. The Land of Eb is
about a Marshallese family struggling to create a new home for themselves on the fringes of society, telling a simple story of one man while revealing profoundly deeper issues.
**************************************************************************************************************************
JACL Honolulu Chapter editorial
Star Advertiser, Sunday, February 3, 2013
Support The Freedom To Marry
As the nation’s oldest and largest Asian American civil rights organization, the Japanese American Citizens League is committed to equality and the protection of civil and human rights for all. The JACL has long supported marriage equality. In 1964, the JACL submitted an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case of Loving v. Virginia in which interracial couples were ultimately allowed to marry, effectively striking down the fallacy that love can be legislated.
In 1994, the JACL national council affirmed the position that marriage is a fundamental human right that should be guaranteed to all, which made the JACL the first non-gay organization to support marriage equality.
Historically, we reflect on the 1942 Executive Order 9066 which stripped 120,000 American citizens of Japanese ancestry of their rights and freedoms. This was done by well-meaning people who decided it was perfectly fine to discriminate because it was just one time and only against a small minority. We must never again make any group an exception to our right to equal protection under the law. Discrimination against any group of people has no place in our society.
The current controversy surrounding the efforts to legalize same sex marriage in Hawaii fails to address a basic point – the loving couples who are denied the right to marry are victims of discrimination.
Notably, in 1993, decades before other states addressed the issue of marriage equality, Hawaii’s Supreme Court led the nation in supporting gay rights by striking down a ban on marriage for same-sex couples because it violated the State Constitution prohibiting discrimination.
The ruling was dealt a setback when a constitutional amendment was enacted in 1998 giving the Legislature the authority to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
Now fifteen years later, same-sex couples in Hawaii continue to be denied the right to marry, although same-sex marriage has already been adopted by nine other states and the District of Columbia.
In the wake of our recognition of the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., we look to the words of Dr. King as revisited by President Obama who said: “the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice . . . but here is the thing: it does not bend on its own. It bends because each of us in our own ways put our hand on that arc and we bend it in the direction of justice.”
Hawaii is a state defined by its diversity. We as a state also value family, and those family members include those who are gay.
The fact that individuals in our community are denied the right to marry merely because they are gay, fundamentally undermines the premise of equality and ultimately robs them of their dignity as citizens.
Yes, there are strident voices that maintain marriage is a tradition and should be protected (Star-Advertiser op ed Jan. 27). However, our state’s lawmakers currently have before them measures that will not change how religion defines marriage. The proposed law allowing same-sex couples to join in marriage specifically protects the rights of clergy, churches and religious organizations that do not perform or recognize same-sex marriages.
Hawaii has a chance this legislative session to do what is right and fair and to put our collective “hand” on the arc and bend it in the direction of justice for all.
****************************************
Please Join us for the first Fred T. Korematsu Day in Hawaii
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii
5:30 p.m. Registration
6:00 p.m. Program
For more information on the events of the day, please click here.
*********************
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade
Monday, January 21, 2013
JACL participated in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade today! Photos available here.
********************
The Japanese American Citizens League, Honolulu Chapter, mourns the passing of Senator Daniel K. Inouye and expresses our gratitude for his leadership and legacy of service. Senator Inouye worked tirelessly to ensure that next generations will never forget the history of Japanese Americans during World War II–notably, the unlawful incarceration of Japanese Americans and the selfless service of the 442nd, 100th Infantry Battalion, and Military Intelligence Service. Senator Inouye paved the way for JACL’s steadfast support of Native Hawaiians, Micronesians and our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters. Because of his service, current and future generations will be reminded that liberty cannot be taken for granted and that due process and civil rights must be vigilantly protected.
*********************************
Thank you for joining us at the 2012 Annual General Membership Meeting & Awards Luncheon
To view invitation please click here
On Saturday, October 13, 2012, our JACL Hawaii community gathered together to celebrate the work of many outstanding leaders.
Distinguished Service Awardees: the law firm Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing for their extensive pro bono work on Micronesian issues and Dina Shek, Esq., Director of the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law Medical-Legal Partnership for her service to the large Micronesian community in Kalihi Vallley. Blake Oshiro introduced awardee Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing. Louise Ing, Esq. accepted the award on behalf of Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing.
- Eric Yamamoto, University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law, Fred T. Korematsu Professor of Law and Social Justice introduced awardee Dina Shek, Esq. His remarks can be found here.
Matthew Shimura for his award winning short film entitled: The Constitution and the Camps: Due Process and the Japanese-American Internment
The Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii and filmmaker Ryan Kawamoto for the creation of the first comprehensive documentary on the Hawaii internment experience entitled: The Untold Story: Internment of Japanese Americans in Hawaii – Trailer
2012 Emerging Leader Awardees: Alyssa Marie Kau and Nicholas Alcover