Two Post-war JACL Convention Programs

Official Souvenir Programs, Biennial Intermountain District Conventions [1946 and 1949]

Japanese American Citizens League

Notes: The programs for the first two post-war conventions of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) Intermountain District, which was made up of local chapters in Idaho and Malheur County, in eastern Oregon, at the time of the first convention; by the second convention the district had expanded to include Utah.

The theme of the first convention was to "finish the fight...against native fascism which pits race against race and fosters prejudices and discrimination against some people here within the United States" (p. 11). The second convention's focus was on rebuilding the JACL into a national force (it would become one of the most effective advocates for reparations to interned Japanese Americans).

The programs include letters of support from government officials and JACL leaders, photographs of many members, and advertisements from a surprising number of businesses, both Japanese and non-Japanese owned. The program also includes the schedule of activities in both Weiser and Boise, Idaho in 1946, and Ogden, Utah, in 1949. The 1949 program includes reports on the accomplishments of the individual chapters within the district and includes member directories for each chapter.

Material documenting Japanese American history from Idaho and Utah are quite uncommon.

36 pages (1946) and 74 pages (1949). 7-3/4 by 10-1/2 inches.

Edition + Condition: Very good to near fine copies in stapled wrappers, as issued.

Publication: [Idaho and Salt Lake City?]: Japanese American Citizens League, Intermountain District, 1946, 1949.

Item No: #362556

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