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Last 12 Newsletters available below
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April 2008 JACL Leadership Conference The JACL/OCA Leadership conference was held March 1-4 earlier this month and it was my fortune, along with Jean Yamamoto, to go to Washington D.C. and represent the Portland chapter at the annual conference. Jean and I were joined by 30 other JACL and OCA representatives from as far away as Hawaii, New York, and Florida and many from neighboring California and there was even a member from the JACL Hoosier chapter. The conference was filled with lots of information and fun activities, but the best part was getting to know these fellow JACL and OCA members from all around the country and learn about their backgrounds, experiences, and the issues and activities their various chapters were involved in. In fact, the opportunity to network with other members is an important aspect of the conference format. I was particularly happy to see many young faces among the attendees along with some older folks like me. I was also greatly impressed by the interns, fellows and staffers (many were former JACL/OCA leadership conference attendees) who took time to talk to us about their work in the nation’s capital. Listening to these articulate young people speaking with passion about their work really brought home the importance of JACL and OCA having such a conference. I encourage all of our young members to pursue the many fellowship opportunities offered by JACL allowing them a wonderful look into governmental affairs. The conference schedule was stocked full with informative and inspiring speakers. Informative sessions covering some tools of public policy making such as media and message training, advocacy process and regulations, coalition building models and Asian American statistics and demography and coalition models. We also learned about the upcoming 2010 Census and the importance of the APA community to fully participate. We also enjoyed inspirational sessions that showed us the diversity of the Asian American experience and urged us to keep in touch with our individual family history. Most inspiring of all was hearing from military heroes Capt. Bruce Yamashita who fought against discrimination in the Marine Corps and Gen. Antonio Teguba who performed the military investigation of Abu Ghraib and bravely spoke the truth. Of course, the conference wasn’t all just listening to speakers in the hotel. We were also treated to some fun activities including a Capital tour, a visit to the National Portrait Gallery, some wonderful dinners and karaoke. The highlight, however, was a visit to the Japanese American Memorial where Warren Minami gave us a personal tour and history of the memorial. The memorial is beautiful and stirring on its own, but Mr. Minami’s personal account of the internment and the efforts that lead to redress and the construction of the memorial were very moving. Both JACL and OCA members, young and old were moved by his story and the importance of the memorial as a reminder of past wrongs and JACL accomplishment. It reminded me of why I joined JACL and brought to light the realization that the path for JACL moving forward must be to lend our voice to help other communities facing hardships and discrimination today and in the future. |
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