Marutani
(March 14, 1947-Nov. 27, 2019)
Marutani, 72, had a long history with the JACL, culminating with the presentation of the JACL Ruby Pin — the organization’s highest service recognition — in August at the JACL National Convention in Salt Lake City. His pet project was education, and as the longtime chair of the JACL’s National Education Committee, Marutani’s efforts meant teachers were instructed on how to utilize the story of Japanese American incarceration into their civil rights curricula. A member of the San Francisco JACL chapter who served on its board of directors, he was also a supporter of the Power of Words initiative to use more accurate words instead of euphemisms to describe the treatment of West Coast Japanese Americans during WWII.
