Downtown L.A. Japanese American Citizens League President Kitty Sankey receives award from Mayor Villaraigosa's office and from City of Gardena. From Left, former Monterey Park Mayor and Ms. Sankey. Gardena Mayor Paul Tanaka and Ms. Sankey on August 21, 2005.

Downtown L.A. Japanese American Citizens League Vice-President Marilynn Nakata speaks at rally in Pasadena, California supporting Kamehameha Schools admission policy. Marilynn was born and raised in Hawaii and graduated from the University of Hawaii. At the rally, Ms. Nakata read a letter of support from the Honolulu Hawaii JACL Chapter.

Downtown Los Angeles Japanese American Ctizens League participate in Kamehameha Schools rally.

Downtown Los Angeles JACL members participate in Kamehameha Schools Rally marching to the
9th Circuit Cout of Appeals in Pasadena, California.

Downtown JACL opposes proposition 8

The Downtown Los Angeles Japanese American Citizens League joins Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger, the ACLU of Southern California and the California Teachers Association in opposing proposition 8.

The California Constitution now guarantees marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples.

Prop 8 would change the Constituion so that: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." The effect would be legal discrimination against same sex couples.

Same sex marriage is important because (1) it allows important medical decisions to be made by partners, (2) It allows extended leave to care of sick families, (3) It allows one to sue for wrongful death, (4) It allows familes to have health care coverage and other insurance and (5) it allows one to be burried next to a partner, according to API Equality-LA. "Because Proposition 8 eliminates marriage for same sex couples, we urge all Californians to oppose proposition 8,"stated Kitty Sankey President of the Downtown L.A. Japanese American Citizens League.

Downtown JACL supports push for Postal Honor for

Japanese Americans who served in WWII.

The Downtown Los Angeles Japanese American Citizens League supports the push for a Nisei WWII Commemorative Stamp. More than 30,000 Nisei (second generation Japanese Americans) volunteered during WWII. What resulted was a mostly Japanese American unit called the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and 100th Infantry Battalion which became one of the most highly decorated units in U.S. Military History. The U.S. Postal Service Commemorative stamp review committee meets in January 2008. The U.S. Postal Service has issued commemorative stamps honoring minority veterans in the past including honoring Latin Veterans in 1984 and the African American Buffalo Soldiers about ten years later. Among the success of the 442nd was the rescue of a Texas batallion trapped in the Vosges mountains of France. Its reported that the 442nd Regimental Combat lost four men for every Texan rescued. To sign the on line petition click the following link.
Online Petition for a Nisei WWII Commemorative Stamp Also check out another informative website NiseiStamp.org

Downtown Los Angeles Japanese American Citizens League

Celebrating 80 years of Advocacy in 2009

The Downtown Los Angeles Chapter is the first official Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League and will be celebrating 80 years of existance in 2009. The Group is ably led by President Kitty Sankey, a school teacher with the Los Angeles Unified School District. The Dedicated Board members include Amy Tambara, a local school principal, Rodney Nakada, an insurance Broker, Nancy Nix a librarian, along with Marilyn Nakata, Glen Furumura, Lillian Inatomi, Mary Tsuboi, Patty Sookdet and others.

The Downtown Los Angeles Japanese American Citizens League has been a spark plug in the Little Tokyo Community by hosting the annual Woman of the Year Event held at the New Otani Hotel, the Holiday Cheer Program, a L.A. Dodger outing for the Senior Citizens at the Little Tokyo Towers and for given out an annual scholarship for Ninth Street Elementary School alumnus applying to college.

In recent years, the Downtown L.A. Japanese American Citizens League has supported the Kamehameha Schools program in Hawaii and has advocated for diversity in the judiciary. The Downtown JACL has been a force in helping to improve the quality of life for others. The Downtown Chapter is like no other and we welcome new members to our meetings. If you would like to join our chapter, please contact Kitty Sankey at (310) 838-8553 or email her at kitty_sankey@hotmail.com. Make a difference in the Little Tokyo Community and join our chapter today!

How we began in 1929

The year was 1929 when a group of Nisei (second generation Japanese Americans) banded together in Los Angeles calling themselves the Japanese Citizens Association. The Association's first president, Masao Igasaki, was a Hawaiian Nisei who had just passed the bar and was beginning his legal practice in Los Angeles. Serving with Igasaki were James Suyenaga as vice-president, Elmer Yamamoto as secretary, Dr. Edward Tanaka as sergeant-at-arms, and Thomas Takayama as treasurer.

Soon, as a result of conferencing in Seattle, Washington, the newly formed Japanese American Citizen League (JACL) declared the first official JACL chapter noting its representation of the major population center for Americans of Japanese ancestry. Thus, the “Association” became the JACL-Downtown Los Angeles Chapter (DLA). The 79 years since has seen many distinguished leaders preside over its meetings, beginning with pre-war presidents: Kay Shugahara, John Maeno, Herbert Wada, Ken Matsumoto, Fred Tayama, Shigemi Aratani, and Dr. Masaru Horii.

The Downtown Chapter, forced to curtail its civic work by wartime hysteria and Executive order 9066, reactivated in July 31, 1946 with Frank Chuman (author of the acclaimed The Bamboo People) at the helm. Frank was followed in subsequent years by John Aiso (WWII Military Intelligence Service language School head and the first Japanese Supreme Court Justice), Dr. John Watanabe, Dr. George Kambara, Harry Honda (longstanding editor of the JACL newspaper, Pacific Citizen). Harry M. Fugita, David Yokozeki, Kei Uchima, Duke S. Ogata, Frank Suzukida, and Katsuma Mukaeda.

Past presidents of the Downtown L.A. Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League have served the community in various capacities in both local and national JACL and also as leaders in their respective fields including business, law, medicine, journalism, banking and politics. Such include Frank Omatsu, Father Clement, Frank M. Tsuchiya, Ed Matsuda, Alfred Hatate (also JACO District Governor), Kiyoshi Kawai, and Ted Kojima. Those who served additionally as Japanese Chamber of Commerce president or vice president are Eiji Tanabe (known for his work as a Nisei Week founder), Soichi Fukui, Takito Yamaguma (1972, 4th Imperial Order of Japan recipient), Toshi Yamamoto(1997, Order of the Secret Treasure, Gold and Silver), Mitsuhiko Shimizu and Joe Hazama.

The chapter has benefited from the leadership skills of Sansei (third generation Japanese Americans), presidents – George Fujita, Patrick Ogawa, Mary H. Nishimoto, George Kita, Gary Itano, Greg Tanaka, and Rodney Nakada. This leadership tradition, fostered by JACL, found Paul Igasaki, grandson of the first Downtown Los Angeles Chapter president Masao Igasaki, serving as the JACL Washington, D.C. representative. In fact, current president Kitty Sankey is the granddaughter of Gongoro Nakamura, a 1959 DLA president and a former president of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce.

The Downtown Los Angeles Japanese American Citizens League has mounted Issei (first generation Japanese in America) Recognition programs; presided over ensuring the franchise of the Issei obtained through the McCarren Act during the early fifties; participated in Nisei Week events and planning; and for 53 years, co-sponsored the Women of the Year annual luncheons in recognition of the individual achievements of Japanese American women.

The Downtown L.A. Japanese American Citizens League has supported Little Tokyo health Fairs for the elderly and the Shogun Santa Parades for the local youth and their parents; actively contributed toward achieving redress and reparations for the WWII injustices; and supported programs in local schools.

In addition to supporting the efforts of many organizations concerned with the artistic, cultural, historic, and social development of Americans having Japanese or Asian/Pacific heritage, the Downtown Los Angeles Chapter has often come to the defense of groups and individuals who have had their civil and constitutional rights threatened. The chapter supports a scholarship for graduates of Ninth Street Elementary School, sponsors an annual Dodger Night for residents of Little Tokyo Towers, and administers the annual Holiday Cheer program that provides monetary supplements to the needy.