Join JACL and Other Community Organizations in Protecting Our National Parks

JACL is honored to join the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), dozens of Japanese American organizations, and countless other supporters in a day of action to protect every park tomorrow, August 23, 2025. Across the nation, different actions will be taking place at national park sites and other areas for supporters to gather and show their support. Five different actions will take place within the Japanese American community, including in Little Tokyo, Manzanar National Historic Site, Tule Lake National Monument, Seattle Waterfront, and the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historic Site.

Our Japanese American community knows the importance of protecting historic sites firsthand. Several former incarceration sites now fall under the banner of the National Park Service, who help to steward, preserve, and honor these sites of shame. These centers include Manzanar, Tule Lake, Amache, Minidoka, Bainbridge Island, and Honouliuli. It would be impossible to upkeep these historical sites and share our history with the broader American public without the support of the NPS. In preserving these sites, future generations can continue to learn and remember the dark period of history our ancestors faced during the period of incarceration.

Under the current administration, however, these sites and all NPS parks are under threat of erasure, funding cuts, and censorship. In March, President Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” meant to “ensure that all public monuments, memorials, statues, markers, or similar properties within the Department of the Interior’s jurisdiction do not contain descriptions, depictions, or other content that inappropriately disparage Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial times).” This blatant attack on American history has already led to the erasure of historical information at some National Park sites and has led to the appearance of QR codes at nearly every location within the NPS system. These QR codes direct visitors to report any information displayed at the parks, which, as deemed by the executive order, may be “disparaging” to Americans, past or living. Combined with severe budget cuts to the National Park Service, including in the recently passed so-called “Big Beautiful Bill”, the history that not only our former incarceration sites tell, but all sites that tell the whole truth of American history, are under threat.

For those who are able to join in person, we urge you to attend one of the actions happening in your local area. It is a vital time to ensure that our histories, our parks, and the people who care for them to ensure the parks are not erased or forgotten. For those unable to attend in person or who want to take further action, we suggest visiting one of the National Parks or affiliate sites whenever possible. Finally, we have created a targeted action for our members and supporters to take part in, where you can message your members of Congress, calling on them to help protect our parks. Take part in this action, using the button below, and share with your network to bring further awareness. More than 80 years later, our history is still vital to the broader narrative of our nation. We cannot allow these stories, memories, and histories to be silenced, forgotten, or erased.

Find a Day of Action Event Near You!