Welcome to the Sonoma County Japanese American Citizens League Website! Our chapter is dedicated to educating the public about the Japanese American experience, monitoring legislation affecting minority human and civil rights, addressing hate crimes and fostering Japanese American culture.
We invite you to browse the information provided here and to please consider becoming a member of our organization to support the rich cultural and historical heritage of Japanese Americans in Sonoma County, California.
Virtual Symposium - Trans Allyship: Learn, Grow, Act hosted by Okaeri, JACL, and PFLAG SGV API![]()
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Trans Allyship: Learn, Grow, Act is a joint effort by Okaeri, the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), and PFLAG. This effort grew from the realization that the transgender community, and its Japanese American and API members, are largely invisible and misunderstood both in LGBTQ+ spaces and especially among allies. Through this symposium, we aim to address this gap by (1) facilitating a basic understanding of the trans community, and (2) emphasizing touchpoints of Heart, Head, and Home: to connect, educate, and encourage attendees to take action in their own communities. In doing so, we hope to educate and inform allies about the transgender community to help them make better-informed and more inclusive social, community, and civic choices.![]()
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The symposium will be held virtually over Zoom on Saturday September 28th from 10am-3:30pm PST, and will feature an opening plenary, guest speakers, workshops, and discussion groups exploring areas of advocacy, information, and family support. Registration is free and open to all. ![]()
jacl.wufoo.com/forms/trans-allyship-learn-grow-act-registration-form
Analy High School Zen Garden Mural Update![]()
By Phyllis Tajii![]()
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Sonoma County JACL is supporting a project being completed at Analy High School. The Zen Garden is a project started by Owen Foley last year when he was a student there. Owen planned, obtained approval from the school board and is completing his vision of a Zen rock garden with a mural painted in the background. ![]()
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Owen was inspired to honor the Japanese Americans in the community who were forced to leave their homes to live in concentration camps during WWII. Traveling to Japan with the Sebastopol World Friends Sister City program and hearing the stories of the Japanese Americans who lived in Sebastopol during the war motivated him to pursue this project. ![]()
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A talented artist, Owen designed the mural and is doing the artwork himself. We look forward to its completion and installation of the rock garden in the planter in front. Here in the meantime, is the mural that is still a work in progress.
Japantown History Mural Project![]()
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The San Francisco Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League, established in San Francisco in 1929, and Mission Art 415, a leading mural arts organization dedicated to empowering local artists, propose a Japantown History Mural to depict the history of San Francisco Japantown on the exterior wall of the Peace Plaza facing the Geary Expressway.![]()
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The impetus for the Japantown History Mural is the preservation of the storied history of our community’s resilience despite upheavals and challenges to its survival. The mural will illustrate![]()
a timeline of our community, featuring large format portraits of 9 influential leaders who have shaped Japantown. The mural will also feature key events and places such as the wartime incarceration, a second forced removal by Redevelopment policies, and legacy Japantown businesses.![]()
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The proposed mural is a public art project to be privately funded. We ask for your support of![]()
this historic and meaningful project that will celebrate our community. This mural will teach, in![]()
a beautiful and visual way, the significance of San Francisco Japantown, a community built on struggle.![]()
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To sign the petition online please use the QR code below:
Hiroshima Peace Tree dedicated in Petaluma![]()
By Phyllis Tajii![]()
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Sonoma County JACL sponsored a Sonoma County Peace Crane Project event held on August 4. A Hiroshima Peace Tree was dedicated at the Petaluma Community Center in Lucchesi Park where the tree was planted last spring. ![]()
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The tree was grown from one of 20 seeds sent from Green Legacy Hiroshima, an organization that collects seeds from trees and plants in Hiroshima that survived the WWII atomic bomb. The seeds were nurtured by Sonoma Botanical Garden into 10 saplings and the City of Petaluma approved the planting of one of the trees on their property.![]()
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Featured speakers of the day included David Perry who talked about his father William Perry, former U.S. Defense Secretary, whose nuclear weapon opinion changed over time into a vision of a world free from nuclear weapons. A dedication ceremony was held around the tree that included a blessing by Daryl Yagi from the Enmanji Buddhist Temple.