David Inoue
It’s almost cliché now for JACL conventions. You can almost count on seeing the words “unity” or “community” someplace in our themes or even combinations like this year of “Voices in Unity.” But the reason for that is so central to who we are as an organization and what we do.
Just a few days ago, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights celebrated the 75th anniversary of its founding. JACL was one of the original 30 organizations that coalesced to form that first coalition, which has now grown to over 200 member organizations.
Ralph Neas was executive director of the Leadership Conference from 1981-95. As you can guess, this placed him in his role right at the height of the push for redress, and any conversation with Neas highlights how important that fight was for him and the coalition, making it one of the greatest achievements during his tenure. Indeed, it was not only the coalition of the Leadership Conference but also the direct support of so many of its member organizations as well.
While I very much want to celebrate the long history of the Leadership Conference, what we see now is the erosion of much of the work that the coalition accomplished in its early years with the passage of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1960 and 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Fair Housing Act of 1968. The coalition is needed more than ever, and this brings us back to the theme of this year’s convention, “Voices in Unity.”
Another coalition to which JACL is a member, the National Council on Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), recently published a report on the first 100 days of the Trump administration (https://www.ncapaonline.org/100dayreview/). The steady flow of presidential Executive Orders that fly in the face of the Constitution and seek to roll back the gains of these past 75 years of civil rights advancements has been dizzying. The 100-day report only scratches the surface focusing on actions directly related to and impacting Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities.
The report highlights some of the work JACL has focused on, including its opposition to the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act against the people from Venezuela. A document such as this highlights how different coalition members might take the lead on certain issues, but we all work together and in support of one another.
At this year’s National Convention, you will be able to see this firsthand as we combine the concept of “Voices in Unity” with the issues upon which we speak. Among the plenary sessions will be one featuring leaders from many of the coalitions within which we work.
We will have another session highlighting the in-depth work that we have done on the Alien Enemies Act. Workshops will highlight issues such as transgender rights, also making the ties between national policy and state/local policies that sometimes have an even greater impact.
Another session will highlight the attacks on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs across several different sectors and the need to fight these attacks together. Finally, the opening plenary will highlight the importance of storytelling, the basis of how we accomplish our advocacy and communicate the impact of policies on us personally.
Join us in Albuquerque, N.M., at this year’s National Convention, “Voices in Unity,” to better understand the breadth and depth of issues facing our diverse communities today. Together, we can speak out to protect the historic work of JACL and our partners and protect the rights of all Americans. Perhaps you might feel that there is little we can do, but when we work together in unity, our collective voices grow in strength, and we can accomplish so much more.
Register for convention at https://jacl.org/2025-national-convention.
David Inoue is executive director of the JACL. He is based in the organization’s Washington, D.C., office. Click here to read past columns.
