This collection documents the activities of the Watsonville-Santa Cruz chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) from 1934 through 2021. Records of the Watsonville-Santa Cruz chapter's internal functions include organizational and administrative records such as financial documents and reports, membership lists, meeting minutes and agendas, event records, and ephemera. The collection also contains records that pertain to the Watsonville-Santa Cruz chapter's engagement with the JACL's Northern California, Western Nevada, and Pacific (NCWNP) district and the national JACL organization. Materials relate to Japanese immigration and community formation in California's Pajaro Valley before World War II, forced removal and incarceration, Nisei military service and veterans, and JACL's involvement in the redress and reparations movement. In addition, the collection holds records of the Watsonville-Santa Cruz JACL's efforts to preserve Pajaro Valley Japanese American history and public education and outreach. These records were created and collected by Mas and Marcia Hashimoto. Regarding community history, it includes photographs, family biographies, news clippings, and oral history interviews. It also contains educational materials and documentation of the chapter's involvement in public memorial projects.

The Watsonville-Santa Cruz Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) is an organization in California's Pajaro Valley that was founded as the Watsonville Citizens League in 1935 by Nisei, second-generation Japanese Americans. During its early years, the Watsonville Citizens League functioned as a social club and worked to promote civic engagement and patriotism among its members. During World War II, due to the mass incarceration of individuals with Japanese ancestry, the Watsonville Citizens League ceased its operations. Its members were incarcerated in Poston, a War Relocation Authority (WRA) concentration camp located in Arizona. Postwar, the Watsonville Citizens League resumed its activities, and began to focus on political advocacy. In 1949, the Watsonville Citizens League became a formal chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL). The organization's name was changed to Watsonville-Santa Cruz JACL in 1964. During the 1970s and 1980s, the national JACL organization and members of the Watsonville-Santa Cruz JACL were involved with the national campaign for redress and reparations for individuals who were incarcerated during World War II. From the 1960s and continuing through the 2020s, members of the Watsonville-Santa Cruz JACL have advocated for civil rights and have worked to document the histories of the Japanese community in the Pajaro Valley and wartime incarceration and engaged in cultural outreach.

5.42 Linear Feet 3 cartons, 1 flat box

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