The upcoming JACL National Convention is set to offer conventiongoers several entertainment options, among them the opportunity to view some outstanding films relevant to the JACL.
There will be films shown during the day for boosters. And for those not partaking in the optional events and excursions away from the Little America Hotel convention venue, screenings will be held during the evenings on Aug. 1 and 2 for those choosing to stay at the hotel.
On the evening of Aug. 1, there will be a showing of the film “Never Give Up: Min Yasui and the Fight for Justice.” The one-hour film will be followed with a Q & A at which Holly Yasui, Min Yasui’s daughter, and Peggy Nagae, the lead attorney in his case, will participate. Min Yasui was a practicing attorney at the onset of World War II. He purposely broke the curfew placed upon Japanese Americans as he was testing the constitutionality of the ruling. Yasui spent his life working for civil rights.
“Norman Mineta and His Legacy: An American Story” will be shown after the Min Yasui film. The story of the life and career of Sec. Norman Y. Mineta is captured in the film, which has been shown on PBS. Sec. Mineta and the producers of the film are expected to be in attendance.
At night on Aug. 2 during the optional youth event at the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple, to which all are invited, there will be several films shown at the hotel. Two of Lane Nishikawa’s films will be featured. The first is “Our Lost Years,” a new documentary on the incarceration of 120,000 persons of Japanese heritage. Nishikawa interviewed many people for the film, and he will be on hand to sell DVD’s, which will benefit the San Diego JACL chapter.
The second film is titled “Only the Brave,” which documents the Japanese American 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team, which was ordered to rescue the “Lost Battalion” from Texas. They suffered 800 casualties while rescuing 211 Texans. The film stars Tamlyn Tomita and Lane Nishikawa.
See You at the JACL 2019 Convention in Salt Lake City!
— JACL Convention Committee
