Online Speaker Request Forms

Choose Speaker Request Form – Click here for: SCHOOLS or Here for: ORGANIZATIONS 

Please allow us to introduce you to an educational resource established by the Sonoma County Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL).

The JACL is one of the oldest and largest Asian Pacific American civil rights organizations with more than 110 chapters throughout the United States. It was established in 1929.

Speakers are available free of charge:        

Our chapter has established a Speakers Bureau to serve as an educational resource for English and Social Studies teachers in the Sonoma County area. This Speakers Bureau is offered as a free service to your teachers.

Speech topics:

 

  • Our primary presentation is designed to educate students about the Japanese American experience, particularly what led to the mass evacuation and incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans in concentration camps during World War II. The range of topics about that experience includes: the living conditions in camp, the effect on family life, those who served in the U.S. military during World War II, the No-No Boys and draft resisters, the postwar experience, and the local story of acts of kindness bestowed by residents of Sonoma County.

 

  • In addition, speakers can address topics regarding human rights and civil liberties, Constitutional rights violated by the incarceration, and Supreme Court cases. The story of the Japanese American imprisonment during WWII has strong parallels to the current political climate and the long history of discrimination against people of color entering the United States (eg: the deportation of Mexican/South American immigrants, the separation of families, and the ban of immigration from Muslim majority countries)

 

  • New this year, we have a program geared to elementary schools, called (Japanese for “Paper Theater”). Storytellers bring a wooden briefcase (butai) with doors that open to create a stage that frames 20 paintings telling the story of the Japanese American incarceration through the experiences of a young brother and sister.

 Free curriculum guide:        

 A free Curriculum and Resource Guide is available for downloading at our website: www.sonomacojacl.org.

The procedure for requesting speakers:

Teachers can request speakers for their classes by going to the JACL website www.sonomacojacl.org and completing the online request form.

If you have any questions, please either:

  • Call: 707-778-8895 – please leave a contact number and say you are requesting a speaker
  • Email: speaker@sonomacojacl.org . Please put “speakers bureau request” in the subject

 

Please note:   

We recommend that requests for speakers be made one month in advance of the desired date of the speaking engagement. A speaker from the Speakers Bureau will then contact the teacher to confirm the speaking engagement and send a confirmation letter. The Speakers Bureau requires that the teacher (not a substitute) be present for the duration of the presentation. It should be noted that in some cases two speakers might be assigned as a team. If you would like speakers for more than one class, a team is recommended.

We have a cadre of enthusiastic, trained volunteer speakers, and we hope you will disseminate the information about our Speakers Bureau as widely as possible.

Thank you in advance for your interest. We look forward to working with you.

Sincerely, Henry Kaku, coordinator                                            Jodi Hottel, chair

For more information: 
Email speaker@sonomacojacl.org – Please put “Speakers Bureau Request” in the subject line. Or, call (707) 778-8895 – please leave a contact number and say you are requesting a speaker

We recommend that requests for speakers be made one month in advance of the desired date of the speaking engagement. Thank you in advance for your interest. We look forward to working with you.

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