Category Archives: Events

JACL Honolulu’s QUILT Fellowship Program: Building Innovative Leaders of Tomorrow

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JACL Honolulu’s QUILT Fellowship Program’s inaugural cohort will begin gathering in January 2024. Through the QUILT Fellowship, selected fellows will connect with civil rights advocates, social justice activists and other community leaders. Fellows will attend workshops from January 2024 to April 2024 where they will learn skills in board service, community organizing, grant writing, and project implementation. 

Fellows will work closely with JACL facilitators to prepare detailed plans for capstone projects. They will then work on individual or group projects, 3-12 months in duration, to forward the JACL Honolulu chapter’s commitment to civil rights and social justice. Fellows will receive a monthly stipend for their participation in the fellowship as well as funding for their individual or group projects. Individual and group projects will be presented at the 2024 JACL Honolulu annual gala.

How can you help?

We welcome your support of our efforts to build the next generation of community leaders. You may make a donation at Givebutter or by emailing us at JACLHon@gmail.com.

This program was made possible in part by long-time supporter, social justice advocate, and textile artist Ellen Godbey Carson.  She has donated one-of-a-kind quilts, pictured here. These beautiful quilts were lovingly designed and made from dozens of vintage kimono silks and fabrics she collected. More information on how to obtain these one-of-a-kind quilts will be provided at the 2023 Distinguished Service Awards Gala, Saturday, November 18, 2023; by emailing JACLHon@gmail.com or at our Givebutter site.

***Each quilt has a sleeve on the upper back side to easily hang the quilt.  For longevity of your quilt, keep it out of direct sunlight and do not wash it (dry clean only).

Enjoy the gallery:

(1) Murasaki (immediately below) – Medium (26”w x 34”h), this collage of lovely vintage kimono fabrics has a cacophony of purples and violets, including flowers, fans, birds, arrows and intricate shibori fabrics.

(2) Kouyou (autumn leaves) (immediately below) – Medium (30”w x 35”h), this collage of small pieces of lovely vintage kimono fabrics celebrates the beauty of autumn, including flowers,  flying cranes, people in the past, and intricate shibori fabrics.

 (3) Ikigai (Joy in life) (immediately below) – Small (25”w x 35”h), this collage of lovely vintage kimono fabrics evokes the purpose and joy in life, and includes flowers, flying cranes, and intricate shibori fabrics. 

 (4) Murasaki (immediately below) – Medium (26”w x 33”h) – this collage of small kimono fabrics has a cacophony of violets and purples, including flowers and intricate shibori fabrics.

(5) Ikigai (joy in life) (red & white, immediately below) – Medium (27”w x 35”h) – this collage of lovely vintage kimono fabrics evokes the sense of purpose and joy in life.  Its 16 squares depict a kimono of red and white auspicious patterns, including folding fans, flying cranes, kanji characters, gold leaf, floral, arrows, and intricate shibori fabrics.

(6) Ikigai (joy in life) (black & red, immediately below) – Medium (27”w x 35”h) – this collage of lovely vintage kimono fabrics evokes the sense of purpose and joy in life.  Its 16 squares depict a kimono of black and red auspicious patterns, including waves, people in the past, kanji characters, foliage and intricate shibori fabrics. 

(7) Ikigai (joy in life) (immediately below) – Medium (27”w x 35”h) – this collage of lovely vintage kimono fabrics evokes the sense of purpose and joy in life.  Its 16 squares depict a kimono of black and red auspicious patterns, including waves, flying cranes, mari balls, kanji characters, arrows, and intricate shibori fabrics. 

(8) Ikigai (joy in life) (immediately below) – Medium (27”w x 35”h) – this collage of lovely vintage kimono fabrics evokes the sense of purpose and joy in life.  Its 16 squares depict a kimono of black and red auspicious patterns, including waves, flying cranes, forest scenery, kanji characters, flowers, village scenery, hand-stitched gold embroidery, and many intricate shibori fabrics.

(9) Ikigai (joy in life) (immediately below) – Medium (27”w x 35”h) – this collage of lovely vintage kimono fabrics evokes the sense of purpose and joy in life.  Its 16 squares depict a kimono of black and red auspicious patterns, including waves, folding fans, kanji characters, flowers, gold flake, and intricate shibori fabrics.

(10) Samurai (immediately below) – Medium (32”w x 42”h), this collage of lovely vintage kimono fabrics recalls the honor of the samurai, with many fabrics from men’s kimono, scenes of Mt. Fuji, scenes from old village characters, dragons, calligraphy, birds, eggplant, bamboo sculpture, and intricate shibori fabrics. 

(11) Ikigai (joy in life) (immediately below) – Small (28”w x 40”h) this collage of lovely vintage kimono fabrics celebrates long life and success, with striking red, black and white colors, and includes calligraphy, mari balls, folding fans and intricate shibori fabrics.

(12) Murasaki (immediately below) – Medium (31”w x 44”h), this collage of lovely vintage kimono fabrics has a cacophony of purposes and violets, including flowers, temple and garden scenes, origami cranes and intricate shibori fabrics.

(13) Kouyou (autumn leaves) (immediately below) – Medium (31”w x 41”h), this collage of lovely vintage kimono fabrics celebrates the beauty of autumn, including flowers, maple leaves, flying birds, a temple and intricate shibori fabrics.  

(14) Kouyou (autumn leaves) (immediately below) – Medium (31”w x 40”h), this collage of lovely vintage kimono fabrics celebrates the beauty of autumn, including flowers, maple leaves, flying cranes (tsuru), and intricate shibori fabrics. 

(15) I’ve Got the Blues for Japan (immediately below) – Medium (31”w x 40”h), this collage of lovely vintage kimono fabrics has a cacophony of blues, including Mt. Fuji, village life, peacock feathers, ocean waves, and intricate shibori fabrics.

(16) Murasaki – Medium (31”w x 46”h), this collage of lovely vintage kimono fabrics has a cacophony of purples and violets, including flowers, grapes, an embroidered obi, and intricate shibori fabrics.

(17) Arashi (stormy) – Medium (31”w x 42”h), this collage of lovely vintage kimono fabrics has gray and maroon colors, flowers, a geisha, and intricate shibori fabrics.

Talk story with Professor Eric K. Yamamoto

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Please join us for a Talk Story with Professor Eric Yamamoto about “Democratic Liberties and National Security” and his new book published by Oxford Press, In the Shadow of Korematsu. 

Talk Story with Professor Eric Yamamoto
Thursday, June 28
Judiciary History Center
417 South King Street

4:45 pm    Doors open
5:00 pm    Program 
6:15 pm    Book signing
(books available for purchase at a discount)

We look forward to seeing you there. Please RSVP to jaclhon@gmail.com by Thursday, June 14. 2018, so we can make a headcount for food and beverages.  

For more information, please download the event flyer.

Book Description
In the Shadow of Korematsu: Democratic Liberties and National Security tackles pressing questions about the significance of judicial independence for a constitutional democracy committed to both security and the rule of law. What will happen when those detained, harassed, or discriminated against turn to the courts for protection? Will the judiciary passively accept a president’s unsubstantiated claim of national security as justification (as it did during WWII in Korematsu v. U.S.), or will it serve as guardian of the Bill of Rights (as it did during the 1984 Korematsu coram nobis reopening)? Through the lens of the World War II Japanese American incarceration cases, Professor Eric K.Yamamoto opens a path through the legal thicket so that American society might better accommodate both security and liberty. Eric K. Yamamoto is the Fred T. Korematsu Professor of Law and Social Justice at the William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawai`i

What people are saying:

“In this masterful study, Eric Yamamoto not only shows why Korematsu continues to throw its dark shadow over American law and policy; he also explains how, moving forward, judges can reconcile the competing needs to protect our national security and preserve our civil liberties. His penetrating insights could not be more timely. An urgently-needed book.”

 –Angela P. Harris, Professor of Law, University of California at Davis Law School

“Is the Korematsu case wrongly decided, yet capable of repetition? At a time when nativism and racism again parade in the disguise of national security, Eric Yamamoto (one of Fred Korematsu’s lawyers) deftly illuminates that landmark’s long shadow, unraveling its conflicting strands and calling for determined constitutional advocacy to follow active remembering.” 

–Harold Hongju Koh, Sterling Professor of International Law, Yale Law School

“My father Fred pursued his WWII and later coram nobis legal challenges to the government’s falsely justified mass Japanese American exclusion and incarceration so that ‘it’ would not happen again…to anyone. Professor Yamamoto’s compelling and insightful book—with its emphasis on people, courts and democracy—opens a path from historical injustice toward a more just America today and tomorrow.”

 –Karen Korematsu, Executive Director, Fred T. Korematsu Institute

 

Coram Nobis: Reopening the 1944 Supreme Court Korematsu Decision

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“National Security and Democratic Liberties: The Continuing Import of Korematsu v. U.S.”

This year marks the 75th anniversary of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 (EO 9066) issued during World War II that cleared the way for the internment of Japanese-, German- and Italian-Americans to camps across the country. In 1944, Fred Korematsu challenged the constitutionality of EO 9066 and his incarceration in the historic Supreme Court case Korematsu v. United States and lost. To this day, while Mr. Korematsu’s original conviction was overturned the Korematsu decision still stands.

Two events will examine the significance of Korematsu and particularly in light of current events in America:

The first, on Thursday, February 23rd at the William S. Richardson School of Law, is a forum featuring presentations by Korematsu coram nobis legal team members Dale Minami, Lori Bannai and Eric Yamamoto, with Karen Korematsu and Richardson Scholar Advocate law students Anna Jang and Jaime Tokioka. 

The second, on Friday, February 24th downtown at the Judicial History Center, is a reception and roundtable Q&A with the same panelists, plus coram nobis team member Leigh-Ann Miyasato. 

Both events are open to the public and have limited seating.

For more information, please contact Julie Levine of UH Foundation at julie.levine@uhfoundation.org or (808) 956-8395.

Download a PDF of the event flyer.

Please Join Us: 2017 Distinguished Service Awards Dinner

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Download Invitation/Flyer (pdf) | Download Sponsorship/Ticket Order Form (pdf)

Japanese American Citizens League
Honolulu Chapter

Cordially invites you to our
2017 Distinguished Service Awards Dinner

Hilton Hawaiian Village
Waikiki Beach Resort | Coral Ballroom
2005 Kalia Rd, Honolulu, HI

Saturday, March 4, 2017
5:30 PM Registration
6:30 PM Dinner


To recognize these Champions of Civil Rights

U.S. Senator
Brian Schatz

Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals Judge
Daniel R. Foley

Community Activist
Kim Coco Iwamoto


Sponsorships (Table of 8) 
Diamond – $10,000 
Platinum – $7,500 
Gold – $5,000
Silver – $3,000

Individual Tickets
JACL Members – $125
Non-Members – $150

RSVP by Friday, February 3, 2017
Please make check payable to
JACL Honolulu Chapter
P.O. Box 1291, Honolulu, HI 96807

For more information, please contact
Liann Ebesugawa
jaclhon@gmail.com or 543-4986

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact
AJ Halagao
ajhalagao@hei.com or 492-6673

2013 Day of Remembrance

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Please join use for the 2013 Day of Remembrance

Reflections on the Past Relevancy for the Future

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, Manoa Grand Ballroom, 2454 South Beretania Street

1:00 p.m. Program

2:30 p.m. Reception

For more information please see flyer, click here, or contact the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii at 945-7633.

 

Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation Annual Fundraiser

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Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation’s Annual Fundraiser

Saturday, November 24, 2012, from 5:00 pm to 9:30 pm.

Mamiya Theater, St. Louis School, 3142 Waialae Avenue, Honolulu, Hawaii 96816

For more information, please see flyer linked here.

To purchase tickets to this event, please go to www.nhlchi.org or call (808) 521-2302 Admission includes pupu, live entertainment, a silent auction, and two amazing, inspirational films.  Please click on the link below to view the trailer for “Murundak:  songs of freedom”, one of two “you shouldn’t miss” films featured that night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJY8z3n3HB0

2012 Annual General Membership Meeting

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2012 Annual General Membership Meeting

To view invitation please click here

Saturday, October 13, 2012

At the Harbor View Center

1129 North Nimitz Highway

(Above Nico’s at Pier 38)

10:15 a.m.                   General Membership Meeting Registration

10:30 a.m.                   General Membership Meeting (all are welcome; voting by members)

10:30 – 11:00 a.m.       Luncheon Registration; No-Host Bar Open

11:30 a.m.                    Luncheon Program

Members: $50  Go to: www.jacl.org to become a member of the JACL Honolulu Chapter.

Guests: $100

Platinum Sponsors – $5,000

Gold Sponsors  –  $2,500

Silver Sponsors – $1,500

This year we recognize two outstanding community leaders whose work has meaningfully affected the arc of justice for our Micronesian community: 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 Medical-Legal Partnership serving the large Micronesian community in Kalihi Vallley.  The award presentations will be made at our Annual General Membership meeting and Awards Luncheon.


 

Recap: A Decade After 9/11

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On September 10, 2011, JACL-Honolulu Chapter and Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii held a special event, “A Decade After 9/11: Acknowledging the Harms, Learning the Lessons, and Shaping the Future.” Event co-sponsors included ACLU of Hawaii, Community Alliance on Prisons, Hawaii Peace and Justice, Hawaii People’s Fund, and NAACP Hawaii.

The forum opened with an invocation by Rev. Dr. Jonipher Kwong of First Unitarian Church of Honolulu, followed by a video presentation of the 2003 Day of Remembrance, produced and directed by Cynthia Gates Fujikawa. A panel discussion was moderated by attorney Ellen Godbey Carson and featured Hakim Ouansafi of the Muslim Association of Hawai‘i, author Tom Coffman, and UH law professor Mari J. Matsuda.

Mr. Ouansafi spoke about his experiences as a Muslim American after 9/11 and noted the better experiences of Muslims in Hawai‘i compared to the experiences on the mainland. Mr. Ounsafi attributed much of it to the lasting sad memories here of the wrongful persecution and ensuing incarceration of over 300 Hawai‘i Japanese (aliens and Americans) in camps in Hawai‘i and over 1500 in mainland camps during World War II. Mr. Coffman discussed his research on ethnic relations in Hawaii before World War II and the role of inter-ethnic social connections as a way to greater understanding and respect. Prof. Matsuda spoke about the critical need for more education and dialogue in the areas of economic justice, religions, and peace.

KITV Coverage of 9/11 Event