Happy New Year to all! Thank you for your continued connection and involvement with our chapter of the JACL. We can’t do this work without you!
For this month’s Kokoro Corner, I wanted to discuss the importance of values-centered living that comes from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). To briefly summarize ACT, the goal is to accept difficult feelings, clarify values, and commit to take action in accordance with one’s values. When our actions are not directed by our values, we can experience fear, avoidance, as well as low mood and motivation.
In the past few months, I have noticed how my own fear has pulled me away from my values, and left me with greater avoidance and hopelessness. Specifically regarding the ongoing crisis in Palestine, I felt worse and worse as news of Israeli war atrocities increased while I continued to feel stuck. In recent weeks, thanks to kind conversation with friends and time for reflection, I’ve looked toward my values of Compassion, Connection, and Justice. I remember the impacts of WWII intergenerational trauma on our community, Japanese people in America and those still in Japan. Our people, too, have felt the pain of oppression and brutality, the sting of barbed wire and the horror of mass bombings.
We carry that pain in us, and that pain can flood back in from time to time. For me, that pain had left me feeling helpless and hopeless, a feeling like “shikata ga nai” or “it can’t be helped”, when there are very tangible ways for concerned citizens to advocate for change. By reconnecting with some of my deepest values, I’ve been able to care for my own pain that I’d been avoiding and see that the egregious violence upon Palestinian people is parallel to the abuses of power that our community has weathered in the past.
For those curious about how Nikkei groups are pursuing advocacy for the Palestinian cause, Tsuru for Solidarity (@tsuruforsolidarity on Instagram) and Vigilant Love (@vigilantlove on Instagram) are organizations that have been co-founded by Japanese Americans dedicated to solidarity, healing, and systems change.
In this new year, I invite you to consider your inner values and how you might let them guide your actions. Whether you have a value for Love, Spirituality, Courage, or Authenticity (to name a few) there are always ways to reprioritize those in our lives.
May our lives be firmly rooted in our deepest values.
*Please note this may or may not reflect the views of other members of the Portland JACL or Portland JACL Board.
Last month, our Vice President, Chris Lee, gave a preview of the JACL National Convention which we both attended for the first time. I want to give an update and summary of what happened, starting with a reflection on the overall experience.
Three ways ‘Rooted in Community’ was demonstrated
The 53rd convention was held in Los Angeles in late July with the theme of “Rooted in Community.” The convention embodied this theme to me in three ways.
First: the convention was hosted at various venues throughout LA’s Little Tokyo, including the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC), Hompa Hongwanji Temple and the Japanese American National Museum (JANM). Spreading out at various venues isn’t typical. While we had to pay close attention to the day’s locations, we were more integrated into Little Tokyo. We were also encouraged to support the neighborhood’s restaurants, markets and cafes (which we gladly did).
Second: days before the convention began, attendees were informed that our accommodations were moving from the Hilton DoubleTree in Little Tokyo to the Westin Bonaventure in the Financial District. The Local 11 union representing thousands of LA’s hospitality workers went on strike in July. Out of dozens of hotels, the Westin was the only to have negotiated a contract with the union by that time. The move meant many additional hours of work by JACL staff and extra travel time for convention attendees, but this was the right decision. I could hear the workers chanting outside of the DoubleTree as our bus arrived in Little Tokyo and I felt proud that the JACL had supported workers in the community. JACL went beyond just talking about being rooted in community, but also used our finances to take action.
Third: in the same way that the people of Little Tokyo make it a community, it was the people (JACL members) at the convention who brought the theme to life. There were people catching up with old friends and I met several who had attended so many National Conventions that they were losing count. Hearing from other chapters was a good reminder that while we have many differences, we also have many of the same obstacles and are part of a greater JACL network that hopes to address those and evolve the organization with the changing community. This year’s logo, designed by Tom Watanabe, also recognized change. The logo features a “friendship knot” and Watanabe said, “The use of gradation serves to depict a transition over time while also showcasing the beauty of the Southern California sky.”
Convention Summary
The agenda for the convention was packed with plenaries, workshops, receptions, film screenings and more. I couldn’t attend any of the film screenings because of concurrent sessions, but they sounded fantastic. Luckily, two of the six feature-length films shown had been screened in Portland: Manzanar, Diverted, which our chapter screened in spring 2022 and No No Girl, which our chapter screened this past February at our Day of Remembrance event. I’m glad that other JACL members were able to view these important films.
Another film that our chapter screened for our Day of Remembrance (2022), Reparations by Jon Osaki, was shown at the National Council to all delegates. The short film raises awareness of the work that has and continues to be done toward reparations for the Black community. The film’s message – reiterated by Osaki, who spoke with us – is that we all must stand in solidarity with Black folks in the struggle for reparations because it is part of our collective liberation. This discussion laid a good foundation for one of our resolutions that the delegation voted on.
The National Council session resulted in all three proposed resolutions passing. The first resolution supports advocacy for the rights of people who are transgender and nonbinary. The second resolution is to oppose legislation which attempts to establish alien land laws that would limit land ownership based on country of origin. The third resolution supports the California AB 3121 Task Force to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans. JACL will send copies of this resolution to California Governor Gavin Newsom, Secretary of State Shirley Weber, State Senator Steven Bradford and Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer communicating the JACL’s support for the efforts to address the longstanding impact of slavery.
The amendment to the Constitution and Bylaws that would standardize and simplify the membership structure was unfortunately tabled until next year’s convention. While it’s disappointing to have to wait a whole year, this will ensure that the topic gets sufficient time for explanation and discussion. Expect to hear more about these changes next summer, when the convention will be hosted in Philadelphia, PA.
Something else coming up in the near future is JACL’s visioning work. The plenary, “Envisioning JACL’s Future Together,” summarized the hopes, opportunities as well as challenges JACL faces. A visioning initiative will be underway to listen to the community’s ideas, concerns and needs so that JACL can envision the future as we approach JACL National’s 100th year (2029).
Although updates on this work at the National level are forthcoming, it’s never too soon for our chapter to do our own collective visioning. We know youth are the future, and the work that Unite People has done demonstrates this. The formation of our chapter’s Advocacy Committee in the last few years highlights collaboration that is essential for maintaining ties across communities. But there is plenty more to be done to ensure our chapter thrives (and continues to be the largest chapter!).
What do you want to see in Portland JACL’s future? Do you have ideas for how we can strengthen our membership? We’d love to hear from you! Reach out to a board member with your ideas, or contact us on our website: https://www.pdxjacl.org/contact/.
It’s May and we are deep into Spring! It is around this time of year that I tend to feel a renewed energy for pursuing goals in my life that have laid dormant over the winter months. The world seems to blossom in a burst of colorful petals and birdsong as I also come to life again.
As I write this, I reflect fondly on my Hanami outing to see the sakura on the waterfront a few weeks ago. My spouse and I bundled up our infant daughter and went with some of her family into the blustery cold to see this year’s blooms. The waterfront was packed! I was both surprised and moved to see so many people out on a chilly weekday morning, doing something that feels so Japanese and so very Portland. The pom poms of delicate blush pink petals were so idyllic, I wished I was taller so I could see them up close.
However, it struck me that the crowds of people (and dogs and strollers) were noticeably dense around the cherry blossom trees, and lacking in the adjacent Japanese American Historical Plaza. The stones engraved with the experiences of our elders and ancestors sat lonely, overshadowed by the floral display just feet away. How many of the visitors learned that the trees were planted along the waterfront as a gift from Japan for the Plaza’s dedication? But maybe these are just my own assumptions about what I saw. Maybe I have my own feelings of guilt for not sharing this history with my White in-laws and my connection to it. Silencing myself felt safer than letting them know this deep part of my experience.
As a Japanese American mental health therapist, I feel like the month of May is my time to shine. It is designated as both Mental Health Awareness Month and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. As a response to fears of stigma and judgment, we can often hide our emotional experience and the impacts of our heritage. But in my professional role, personal life, and as a community member, I know the impacts that shame and silence have on our physical and emotional health. They can eat away at our self-esteem and challenge our resilience, exacerbating experiences like anxiety and depression, and leave us feeling lost.
We Japanese Americans are truly privileged to have an increasingly diverse community, full of intersecting and diverging experiences. These stories are vital to our strength. We cover a range of generations, from Shin-Issei recent immigrants to the Rokusei sixth generation descendants of immigration. We are multiracial and monoracial, bilingual and beginners, spiritual and secular. We are straight, queer, cisgender, transgender, and nonbinary. We exist across all of these experiences and identities, and we are here to stay.
So what are we to do? Maybe you’re like me, and you find yourself hiding parts of your heritage and cultural experience with others. Maybe you notice the ways that you try to put up a front, to convince others that life is not difficult for you. My encouragement is to start small and experiment with new ways of relating to those around you. This might mean sharing Japanese food with a friend who wants to try new food, opening up to a family member about some challenges in your life, or otherwise practicing making yourself more visible in your relationships. Like the waterfront sakura, your experiences are important and they deserve to be witnessed and appreciated. May we see each other and allow ourselves to be seen.
As before, I’m happy to be a resource for those who might have questions about mental health therapy. Seeking additional support can be a difficult but important first step, and I’d love to help if I can. Feel free to contact me at Spencer@pdxjacl.org.
In March, I had the opportunity to join 36 other participants and three chaperones from across the country to participate in the first in-person KAKEHASHI Project trip in three years. On this trip, I had the pleasure of traveling to Gifu, and I also had the opportunity to meet high-ranking representatives of the Japanese government, including Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary and Special Adviser to Prime Minister Kihara Seiji and Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoshikawa Yuumi. One thing that stood out to me was that everyone greeted us by saying, “Welcome back to Japan” rather than “Welcome to Japan,” acknowledging our family’s history.
This trip was not my first time traveling to Japan, but it was the first time I was able to meet and travel with individuals who identify as Japanese American in a similar age range. Throughout my life, my family has been involved in the JACL Cleveland chapter. Every summer, we have a community picnic. It was through this involvement, that I was able to learn about the Kakehashi program. Visiting Japan with the intention of making a cultural pilgrimage was very different than visiting Japan as a tourist.
I was adopted from China, but I identify as Japanese American. One of the most memorable experiences on this trip, was that I was able to meet another participant, besides my twin, who was also adopted from China and was raised in a Japanese American household. We immediately connected during the trip, and soon realized that our stories were very similar. Prior to the trip, I felt confused about my identity, but the Kakehashi program enabled me to embrace that I identify as a fourth-generation Japanese American woman. It was very refreshing to hear that other participants could not speak Japanese, and no one judged one another for not being able to because we all understood why.
Lauren’s twin LilyShirakawa Go HouseThe Gifu Sekigahara Battlefield Memorial MuseumGroup A visits Shirakawa-Go
My favorite part of the trip was in Gifu Prefecture. Gifu is known for its beautiful waterfalls and abundance of nature, similar to Portland where I currently reside. In Gifu, we had the pleasure of traveling to the timeless village of Shiragawa-Go, a historic mountainside settlement registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. It was fascinating to see how everything in the village was created with a purpose. For example, farmhouses were built to face the sun so that snow would melt from the roof to provide water for crops. We also visited the Gifu Sekigahara Battlefield Memorial Museum, where Japan was reunified under the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1600. Despite not hearing about this battle prior, it is considered as impactful to a nation’s history as Waterloo or Gettysburg.
Another memorable moment was the opportunity to meet with the Gifu World Youth Organization. Through this meeting, we were able to connect with community members aged 10 to 80+. I was amazed by the sheer number of community members who attended. During this meeting, we shared our families’ stories of immigration. Though I had assumed that Japan did not particularly care about those who had left the nation, it was clear some still do. Despite a few difficulties communicating, many community members asked insightful questions about our American experiences, and it was reassuring to hear that many community members wanted us to return to Japan and stay with them in the future.
Prior to the Kakehashi program, I was hesitant that I would be able to connect with my fellow participants. But, after the fact, I am blown away by the level of connection I was able to feel and am appreciative of the various conversations we had about our identities. I can now confidently say that everyone who was in Group A is my friend, and we continue to stay in touch via group chat and by planning meetups. By participating in the program, I feel an even stronger connection to my Japanese American identity and am more motivated to get involved with the Japanese American community in Portland. I am extremely thankful to JACL for organizing this program, and especially to our JICE coordinators, Hiroko Taniguchi and Haruka Tsuda, as well as local travel agent Ryohei Shimizu for going above and beyond. I highly encourage anyone who identifies as a Japanese American to participate in this program if they are able.
Last Spring, I joined my dad on a tour of Gresham Pioneer Cemetery. Most of the graves there were of notable families who have streets named after them. Nestled in a cemetery once reserved for Europeans is the resting place of the first known Japanese settler in Oregon, Miyo Iwakoshi. As the partner of a Scottish man, her grave was unmarked until 1988. Her story represents an important piece of our region’s Nikkei history. I grew up in Oregon and only learned about her a few years ago. This is disappointing. Actually, I’m a little mad about it. Especially considering she and her family may be the reason many Issei, including my great-grandfather, decided to settle here.
In school, the lives of Native peoples and non-European settlers were at best side notes to the Oregon history curriculum. Multicultural perspectives were lacking. How we ended up at the cemetery that day is thanks to my dad who had found a card addressed to his grandparents from Miyo’s daughter, Jewel Nitobe. Ever curious, he discovered her mother’s historical significance and final resting place.
I think about myself as a child growing up in the 80s and 90s, and how meaningful Miyo Iwakoshi’s story would have been to me then. I’m a mixed yonsei, raised in a predominantly white community. I never saw representations of Nikkei Oregonians. Having something to connect to in the past helps us better understand our experience of the world and form our ideas of self. It would have been validating to learn about her as a child. All children should have an opportunity to link to their history.
After this year’s Day of Remembrance where we showed the film No No Girl, the panel was asked and grappled with some tough questions from the audience. How do we keep the past alive as we near the 100th anniversary of Executive Order 9066? What happens as the younger generations become more diverse? Will we forget? Will history keep repeating? I share these anxieties. It’s in part why I started volunteering at JAMO and Portland JACL–to help preserve memories of our families and friends for the generations to come, to have some small hand in keeping the past alive. Sometimes the act of remembrance may feel repetitive, like the dominant culture doesn’t care. But I think of my younger self and feel what is at stake personally if we were to stop. I don’t want us to forget. As I shouldn’t have learned about the first Japanese Oregonian for the first time in my middle age.
Involvement in this community is an important part of this. We are fortunate to have many active members in Portland. Thank you for supporting us and showing up to DOR, the Nikkei picnic, Historic Plaza clean-ups, mochi-making, Unite People (Portland JACL’s youth group). All of this is valuable! I’m also grateful to those in the JA organizations who came together to dedicate Miyo Iwakoshi’s headstone. Without those pushing for her remembrance 35 years ago, half a century after her death, I’m not sure I would have learned about her.
On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which authorized the forced removal and internment of Japanese Americans living on the West Coast during World War II. Over 120,000 Japanese Americans, two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens, were uprooted from their homes and sent to internment camps in remote areas of the country. The legacy of Executive Order 9066 is a painful reminder of the injustice and discrimination that can arise in times of fear and uncertainty, and the importance of learning from past historical mistakes.
The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II was a gross violation of their constitutional rights and civil liberties. It was based on racial prejudice and unfounded fears of disloyalty and espionage, rather than on any actual evidence of wrongdoing. Japanese Americans were forced to abandon their homes, businesses, and possessions, and were subjected to harsh living conditions and strict military supervision. The trauma and loss experienced by these individuals and their families cannot be overstated, and the effects of internment are still felt today.
However, the legacy of Executive Order 9066 is not only one of injustice and suffering. It is also a legacy of resilience, courage, and resistance. Despite the hardships they faced, Japanese Americans found ways to maintain their dignity and agency, and to assert their rights as American citizens. Many resisted the unjust internment by filing legal challenges, organizing protests, and creating art and literature that captured their experiences. They also made significant contributions to the war effort, serving in the military and working in essential industries.
Today, it is essential to remember the legacy of Executive Order 9066, not only as a cautionary tale of the dangers of discrimination and xenophobia, but also as a testament to the strength and resilience of marginalized communities. We must learn from the past to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.
One way to do this is to ensure that the history of the internment of Japanese Americans is properly taught in schools and other educational settings. Many students are still not exposed to this history, and some textbooks do not accurately depict the causes and effects of Executive Order 9066. By incorporating the stories of Japanese Americans into the curriculum, we can help students understand the complexities of American history, and the importance of protecting civil liberties and promoting diversity and inclusion.
Another way to learn from the legacy of Executive Order 9066 is to support policies that promote equity and justice for all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, or national origin. This includes advocating for immigrant rights, fighting against Islamophobia and anti-Asian hate, and working to dismantle systemic racism and discrimination. It also means recognizing the contributions and value of all members of our society, and creating inclusive spaces where all people can thrive.
Finally, we can honor the legacy of Executive Order 9066 by supporting and uplifting the voices of those who have been marginalized and silenced. This includes listening to the stories and perspectives of Japanese Americans and other communities who have experienced discrimination, and working to amplify their voices and advocate for their rights. It also means promoting diversity in our media, arts, and culture, and recognizing the value of different viewpoints and experiences.
In conclusion, the legacy of Executive Order 9066 is a painful reminder of the injustices and discrimination that can arise in times of fear and uncertainty. However, it is also a legacy of resilience, courage, and resistance, and a call to action to learn from the past and work towards a more just and equitable future.
The first month of 2023 flew by and I’m already looking back at the holiday time with nostalgia. Snow and ice delayed me from visiting my parents in the Gorge, so this was the first year that I spent the Christmas holiday without them. It made me reflect on how lucky I’ve been to be surrounded by my family – and to have a supportive family who I’d choose to surround myself with in the first place. I know not everyone has that.
My gratitude for having this support system was amplified once I did make it out to my hometown. My cousins hosted mochitsuki for the first time since the pandemic started. It was a celebration of tradition but also of the triumph of just being together. We were missing some folks but had a couple new faces as well. There was a feeling of community, not just because we’re relatives and friends, but also because making mochi is a communal act. We all help make mochi for everyone to take home; it takes a village.
This reflection on community and tradition is what I’m holding in my heart as we get ready for Portland JACL’s New Year’s Celebration. At the time of writing this, the event hasn’t happened yet but I’m looking forward to once again being in community with everyone. The hope for this celebration is to bring our community partners and members together to enjoy each other’s company and be part of tradition.
***
I’ve also recently been reflecting on the balance of tradition and evolution. In particular, this has come up with the Minoru Yasui Student Contest. I’ve been part of the organizing committee for several years and it has been rewarding to see it grow as the essay contest that it has been since the beginning. For 2023’s contest, however, we’ve decided to take it in a different direction and do an art contest.
To be honest, there have been times when I question whether this is a good idea. This is a new endeavor and it’s causing the timeline to be pushed out because we need to work out the details for the new format. But then I think about where we were during the pandemic when many were questioning how to go virtual for Minoru Yasui Day and the contest. Everything could have been canceled but instead a group of dedicated volunteers worked very hard to make it happen. Instead of forgoing the event because we couldn’t do it the way it had traditionally been done, it evolved into something new that is now its own type of tradition.
I have come to realize that it’s not the act of doing the exact same things year after year that make traditions special – it’s the intention and legacy behind those acts being passed down which leaves room for traditions to evolve.
Happy New Year to all! Thank you for your continued connection and involvement with our chapter of the JACL. We can’t do this work without you!
For this month’s Kokoro Corner, I wanted to discuss the importance of values-centered living that comes from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). To briefly summarize ACT, the goal is to accept difficult feelings, clarify values, and commit to take action in accordance with one’s values. When our actions are not directed by our values, we can experience fear, avoidance, as well as low mood and motivation.
In the past few months, I have noticed how my own fear has pulled me away from my values, and left me with greater avoidance and hopelessness. Specifically regarding the ongoing crisis in Palestine, I felt worse and worse as news of Israeli war atrocities increased while I continued to feel stuck.
In recent weeks, thanks to kind conversation with friends and time for reflection, I’ve looked toward my values of Compassion, Connection, and Justice. I remember the impacts of WWII inter-generational trauma on our community, Japanese people in America and those still in Japan. Our people, too, have felt the pain of oppression and brutality, the sting of barbed wire and the horror of mass bombings. We carry that pain in us, and that pain can flood back in from time to time. For me, that pain had left me feeling helpless and hopeless, a feeling like “shikata ga nai” or “it can’t be helped”, when there are very tangible ways for concerned citizens to advocate for change. By reconnecting with some of my deepest values, I’ve been able to care for my own pain that I’d been avoiding and see that the egregious violence upon Palestinian people is parallel to the abuses of power that our community has weathered in the past.
For those curious about how Nikkei groups are pursuing advocacy for the Palestinian cause, Tsuru for Solidarity (@tsuruforsolidarity on Instagram) and Vigilant Love (@vigilantlove on Instagram) are organizations that have been co-founded by Japanese Americans dedicated to solidarity, healing, and systems change.
In this new year, I invite you to consider your inner values and how you might let them guide your actions. Whether you have a value for Love, Spirituality, Courage, or Authenticity (to name a few) there are always ways to reprioritize those in our lives.
May our lives be firmly rooted in our deepest values.
*Please note this may or may not reflect the views of other members of the Portland JACL or Portland JACL Board.
あけましておめでとうございます！Akemashite Omedetou gozaimasu! Happy New Year to all of our members. I hope your holiday season had plenty of coziness and quality time with friends and family.
While the holidays and New Year can be a time of joy for many, it can also be a difficult time for many others, filled with the stress of travel or hosting, or a reminder of holidays spent missing beloved family who have passed away. A natural response to this is to find ourselves gradually overcome with worries or sadness, possibly dwelling on things that have happened in the past, or have yet to happen in the future.
To cope with this, I encourage my therapy clients to engage in mindful practices that draw the attention of the mind and body to the present moment, instead of the past or future. There are many ways to develop mindfulness, an active and open attention to the present, but one of my favorites is through breathing. By regulating and focusing on our breathing, our minds get a break from dwelling on distressing thoughts, and our bodies can begin to relax.
I teach a simple exercise called “4-7-8 breathing”, which goes as follows:
Close your eyes (if you’d like) and relax your body.
For 4 seconds, inhale deeply through the nose, letting the belly expand.
For 7 seconds, hold the air in your lungs.
For 8 seconds, exhale slowly through pursed lips (as if blowing out a candle).
Repeat as desired.
A few rounds of 4-7-8 breathing is often all that?s needed to help us center and refocus ourselves when stress or emotions start to cause distress. And because there are no tools required, this breathing technique can be practiced nearly anywhere, and adapted to your needs and physical ability.
May we breathe deeply so we can welcome all the New Year will offer!
Questions? Feel free to email me at Spencer@pdxjacl.org
During my time on Portland JACL?s board I have always thought a lot about the question, ?what can I do?? I originally joined our board so I could give back to the community. I?d like to say it was a well thought out and deliberate effort, but honestly it was on a bit of a whim. Growing up in Portland, there were tons of events in the Japanese American community that I attended and enjoyed. Events like Day of Remembrance, Obon, the community picnic, Mochitsuki, bazaars at Epworth, and I?m sure many more. As a multiracial Asian American, having events like these gave me a sense of worth and belonging. I could walk around white Portland and every once in a while, take a break to let my guard down, be at ease, and just exist. So for me, joining our board was a first answer to the question, ?what can I do??
Although I knew about JACL?s mission and advocacy, the importance didn?t truly hit until I saw all of the work that our board does. There were lots of people answering this question in their own way and working together to do it. I think what amazed me the most was that more than just our board, there is a whole network of people, organizations and committees all answering this question. Just within JACL, there is our national organization, plus the regional districts and chapters throughout the country that are doing things for their members. Locally, our board has many ties within the Japanese and Japanese American communities as well as with other communities and organizations. It seems like we?ve needed them more than ever these past few years.
Lately, one way Portland JACL has been active is working in response to the July 2nd attack on Dr. Abe and his family at the Eastbank Esplanade. Originally the emphasis was just to get coverage of this event before shifting to prevent or better handle this type of violence in the future. Thanks to a small group that includes John Kodachi, Chisao Hata, Peggy Nagae, Erica Naito Campbell, Duncan Hwang, and our own Jeff Matsumoto and Amanda Shannahan, we have continued to act and object to hate. We have come together and responded.
On August 12th, Portland JACL in solidarity with 15 other Asian American organizations, submitted a letter to the Oregon Chief Justice?s Criminal Justice Advisory Committee urging them to begin discussions on the inclusion of bias crimes in the hold until arraignment category. This has resulted in a new recommendation that Bias Crime in the first degree will be moved into the ?hold until arraignment? category and there will be further discussion by the committee on moving bias crime in the second degree to that category as well.
While this may not be large sweeping reform of our country?s justice system, it is a small step in the right direction. As I?ve learned during my time on our board, these small steps are what civil rights and social justice work looks like. As we continue to see an increase in hate crimes and bias incidents in Oregon and Nationwide, I?ll admit that it is easy to feel helpless and lose hope. However, I want to remind you that there are lots of people that continue to answer the question with advocacy for Asian Americans and our communities. We deserve to feel safe.
In addition to the fun things that Portland JACL does, like award scholarships, show film screenings, hold community events like the picnic, there is other work that makes a difference too. Recently that has included helping with the Oregon Nisei Veterans World War II Memorial Highway, supporting Minidoka to preserve the site from a wind farm project, working with Metro and the Expo center to provide input on developing what was once referred to as the Portland Assembly Center. We?ve responded to racist license plates and held a few clean ups too. Not everything we do makes it into the newsletter or gets much coverage, but is equally important and helps our board answer the question, ?what can we do??
Let?s continue to take up space and support community events and organizations. Attending the Tiger Tiger event in July was a great reminder for me of how important it is to get out, connect, and find places to be yourself. Looking ahead to the fall, there will be opportunities to engage and be active related to the mid-term and local elections. Particularly a ballot measure that would make changes to Portland?s form of city government. This could have a big impact on how our city is run. Of course, our newsletter and social are great ways to find events that are happening. I?ll simply close by asking you to join me in taking a moment to reflect and think about ?what can I do??
–Chris Lee
Resources/Links: If you?re the victim of a hate or bias crime please report it to the Oregon DOJ?s Bias Hotline by calling 1-844-924-2427. It is important to record incidents so that it can be counted and justify more resources.
Contribute to the GoFundMe and support Dr. Abe?s family.
