The records of the Detroit Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) document the governance, concerns, initiatives, and activities of the Detroit JACL over the course of its history, beginning in the mid-1940s. The record group is arranged in eight series: Administrative Materials, Events, Outreach Activities, Publications, Related Organizations, Topical Files, Scrapbooks, and Photographs. Because the records are a compilation of materials donated from various JACL members, some duplication occurs among and within the series.
The Detroit chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) was established on June 17, 1946 after over 50 Japanese Americans relocated to Detroit from various war relocation camps. JACL had already been in existence since 1929 on the west coast, and as Japanese Americans sought new homes after their internment, many new chapters sprung up across the country. Initially led by Peter Fujioka, the chapter's first president, the Detroit chapter collaborated with others forming the Midwest District Council.
The national JACL organization has been responsible for changing the laws regarding citizenship, obtaining equal rights, abolishing derogatory labels, and publishing the Pacific Citizen a weekly newspaper for people of Japanese ancestry. However, the organization could not keep over 120,000 Japanese Americans living in the Western United States from being placed into war relocation camps in 1942 following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The JACL fought the evacuation in court and also helped those interned relocate from the camps to communities in the Midwest and Eastern United States. In the early 1990s, mostly due to the ceaseless efforts of the national JACL and other organizations, former internees of the war relocation camps finally received redress payments of $20,000.
Although JACL was originally formed to facilitate the acceptance of Japanese Americans in the United States and act as a political voice, the group also organizes social activities. Events such as picnics, dinners, and dances, designed to attract more Japanese Americans to the group, are frequently held and social groups within JACL have formed such as the Junior JACL and Teen Clubs. Other educational activities such as lectures and special programs are also conducted.
Accomplishments of the Detroit chapter of JACL include funding the creation of the Japanese Room at Wayne State University in 1980, hosting of the 18th Biennial National JACL Convention in 1964, establishing the Detroit JACL Blood Bank, working on the Issei History Project, participating in the Detroit/Windsor International Freedom Festival and the Detroit Far Eastern Festival, sponsoring trips to Japan, and hosting a reception for the Muromachi Period Ink Paintings Exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
In 1996, Detroit JACL celebrated its 50th Anniversary. The celebration was marked with a special golden anniversary installation dinner and ball complete with greetings from Takeshi Kagami, Consulate General of Japan, Detroit and David Hayashi, JACL's Midwest District Governor, and a keynote address from George Takei, an actor whose best-known role was Captain Sulu on Star Trek.
Information for this section was obtained from "For Better Americans in a Greater America: The Story of the Japanese American Citizens League" located in Box 2, under Publications - National and the "Detroit Chapter JACL 50th Anniversary" publication found in Box 2 in the Events - Installation Banquets, Fiftieth folder.
