2007-2008 JACL PROGRAM FOR ACTION
Adopted by the National Council
June 2006, Chandler, Arizona
Introduction
Each biennium, the JACL adopts a Program for Action, setting forth the priorities that will guide the operations and programs of the organization. Upon the recommendation of the Program for Action Committee, at its 39th biennial convention, the JACL adopted the following Program for Action.
1. ADVOCACY
Goal: To make the JACL the leading Asian American civil and human rights
organization dedicated to the elimination of bigotry and discrimination, to the protection of Constitutional and civil liberties, and to the preservation of our common heritage.
Objectives:
- Challenge bigotry and discrimination and promote equity for all Americans and others who reside in this country regardless of race, creed, gender, religion, or sexual orientation.
Advocate for equal opportunity in all aspects of American life, particularly
through vigorous support for affirmative action programs and immigrant rights. - Advocate for the protection of our Constitutional civil liberties to insure that these
rights are not infringed upon nor diminished. - Advocate for the continued vigilance in combating racial and ethnic profiling, especially of the Arab and Muslim American community.
- Strengthen the JACL’s institutional relationships with organizations in all
communities, elected and appointed officials, policy makers, and community
leaders on the national, state and local levels. - Support JACL’s presence and advocacy role in Washington, D.C.
- Develop and implement a Communications Plan to timely and effectively inform
the JACL membership and others about the advocacy activities and
accomplishments of the JACL.
2. TOLERANCE AND DIVERSITY
Goal: To foster a greater understanding and appreciation for values of tolerance and diversity and eliminate stereotypes, prejudice and bigotry.
Objectives:
- Expand the capacity of the Tolerance & Diversity Program by hiring staff or providing program fellowships.
- Educate the community and the public about anti-Asian sentiment through workshops, forums and educational materials.
- Respond to incidents of defamation and hate crimes.
- Maintain the JACL Anti-hate Network.
3. LEADERSHIP
Goals: To develop a new generation of leaders from within our community who will strengthen JACL’s ability to lead, to advocate and to sustain the core values of our organization. The Japanese American Citizens League will be a pre-eminent leader in promoting social justice for all.
Objectives:
- Work with the JACL Youth/Student Council, National Board, District organizations and other groups to increase outreach efforts to recruit the best and brightest from Japanese American communities.
- Seek out leaders of Japanese ancestry who are successful in business, academia, politics, etc., and encourage them to apply their leadership skills to the national organization.
Increase the visibility and stature of the national organization so that all Japanese Americans, particularly young people, will aspire to work with the organization. - Increase funding for education and training opportunities for those who wish to serve in any capacity in the JACL and other community-based venues.
- Consider increasing funding for independent research on social justice issues, particularly as they relate to the Japanese American community, to provide more leverage when our leaders speak out about these issues.
- Consider earmarking scholarship funds to encourage Japanese Americans to enter fields where they can make the most impact on public policies, i.e. academia, politics, journalism, policy research. Encourage scholarship recipients participate in and strengthen their local JACL chapters.
- Enhance leadership skills by presenting public-speaking workshops.
4. EDUCATION
Goal: To educate our membership and the public at-large about the Japanese American historical experience and the lessons that the internment holds for the future conduct of our government related to our Constitutional liberties.
Objectives:
- Continue to develop educational materials including updating the Japanese American curriculum guide.
- Promote distribution of the curriculum guide and other materials to teachers by attending national and regional conferences of the National Conference for the Social Studies.
- Present workshops for teachers to educate and encourage integration of lessons about the Japanese American experience and the internment in the curriculum.
- Continue to advocate for the inclusion of Asian Pacific American experience as part of the national social studies standards.
- Encourage chapters in each state to advocate for the inclusion of Asian Pacific American studies through changes in state learning standards and school codes and through the inclusion of questions related to Asian Pacific American experience in state and standard (ACT, SAT, etc.) achievement tests.
- Encourage the need to educate about tolerance and diversity by promoting multi-cultural education.
- Encourage and enable chapters to organize book clubs and film festivals as a means to promote the discussion and understanding of APA history and culture.
5. YOUTH
Goal: To support and guide the youth into JACL at all levels, to provide programs of mentoring and leadership development to enhance their ability to succeed in life as well as to contribute to the future success the JACL.
Objectives:
- Integrate youth participation and create leadership opportunities at all levels of the organization, including national committees.
- Promote and encourage youth participation and involvement in JACL sponsored events at all levels of the organization.
- Actively support and fund youth to get to both the National Convention and the National Youth Conference.
- Provide (a) guidance or training for districts to help accommodate new youth representatives to transition onto the Youth Council.
6. MEMBERSHIP
Goal: To increase and diversify the membership base of the JACL.
Objectives:
- Develop and implement a plan to retain membership over the next biennium.
- Develop and implement a plan to attract new members that reflect the changing demographics of the Japanese American community.
7. FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Goal: To diversify the financial base of JACL with less dependence on membership dues as the primary income source for JACL.
Objectives:
- Organize a financial development committee to develop a plan for researching and identifying income sources; monitor progress toward increasing income.
- Hire a full-time financial development staff person to pursue new sources of income; to cultivate private, foundations, and corporations and to maintain regular contact with potential sources.
Support annual national conventions as a means of on-going support. - Establish a closer tie with Japanese government and corporations for programmatic and fund development purposes.
- Continue efforts to implement a planned giving program with effective marketing strategies.
Organize a planned giving committee to monitor and identify prospective planned giving sources.
8. WEBSITE AND INTERNET
Goal: To improve the public visibility of the JACL and increase dissemination of critical information by improving the design and content of the national website.
Objectives:
- Include an education/historical aspect to the site by including biographies of prominent Japanese Americans in politics, academia, business, etc.
- Improve the design of the site to include more content and user direction on the home page (e.g. mission statement on the top of the home page, fully utilize the right side of the home page, and link to the Pacific Citizen).
- Increase funding for web design to ensure online content is timely and relevant
Work with the JACL Chapters to ensure all chapter links are included in the national website.
Encourage chapters to create their own websites to be maintained with timely and current information. - Increase use of the internet to disseminate information to members.
9. ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE
Goal: To enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the JACL to carry out its organizational mission.
Objective:
- Establish a committee to study and make recommendations to improve the governance and operations of the organization and report its findings at the next meeting of the JACL National Council.
10: National Strategic Planning Process
Goal: To develop a comprehensive National Strategic Planning initiative that will create a 5-10 year plan or “roadmap” to ensure the organization remains viable, relevant and vibrant for years to come.
Objectives:
- Establish and convene a National Strategic Planning Committee with representatives from the National Board and each District;
- Identify and access new funding sources (internal and external) dedicated to supporting the development and implementation of the National Strategic Planning Committee and Initiative;
Work on ongoing Phase I implementation of National Strategic Planning in the Pacific Northwest District; - Develop and determine Phase II and III strategies for other geographic/ district samples across the country;
- Regularly share key findings and information on the Strategic Planning process with the National Board, District Councils and Chapters.