Since 1929, the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) has championed human and civil rights for Americans of Japanese ancestry and all Americans. The Hoosier Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League is committed to providing resources and programs that:
The Japanese American Citizens League was founded in 1929 to fight discrimination against people of Japanese ancestry. It is the largest and one of the oldest Asian American organizations in the United States.
The JACL has over 23,000 members in 112 chapters located in 26 states and Japan. The organization operates within a structure of 8 District Councils. Its headquarters is in San Francisco, California. A public affairs office is also maintained in Washington, D.C. Five regional offices (in Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Fresno, and Los Angeles) provide support to Chapters and District Councils. The newspaper for the JACL network, the Pacific Citizen, is in Monterey Park, California.
On Saturday, January 24, 1976, an historic meeting took place in Indianapolis, Indiana. The first general meeting of the Hoosier Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League was held on this memorable date at the Heritage House Smorgasbord with over 50 in attendance. George Umemura served as Master of Ceremonies. The meeting marked the emergence of the 94th Chapter of JACL as well as the 9th Chapter in the Midwest District.
The featured speaker at the first general meeting was Shig Wakamatsu, who had served in numerous capacities in the national JACL dating back to its beginning. Mr. Wakamatsu began with a recollection of his personal experiences including the formation of the Puyallup Chapter when he was a youngster, the trials and tribulations as well as successes experienced by JACL in the internment camps during World War II, and the new role emerging for JACL due to the changing needs and membership of upcoming generations of Sansei (3rd generation Japanese Americans), Yonsei (4th generation), and others of allied interests entering the JACL picture.
The first Board of Directors of the Hoosier Chapter, elected on February 10, 1976, included Dr. George M. Umemura (President), Dr. Terry Ishihara (Vice President), Mrs. Shigeko Tachiki (Secretary), Rev. Masaichi Katayama (Treasurer), Mr. William R. Alexander (Historian), Mr. Dale N. Schroeder (Public Relations), Mrs. Keiko Nolan (Fujinkai), Mrs. Yaeko Alexander, Dr. Charles Matsumoto, Dr. Ken Tachiki, Mr. Ernest Takamoto, Rev. James Sugioka, and Miss Mary Sato.
That summer, the Hoosier Chapter participated in the sponsorship of Indianapolis' first International Festival, organized in celebration of America's Bicentennial. The Chapter continued to assist with the annual Festival for many years.