About the Foundation

The National Japanese American Memorial Foundation (NJAMF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to education and public awareness about the internment of Japanese Americans by the U.S. government during World War II. NJAMF believes that our nation is strengthened by its diversity, and that constitutional rights must be cherished, guarded and upheld regardless of race, religion or ethnicity.

Following the Civil Liberties Act in 1988, the Go For Broke National Veterans Association (to later become the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation) organized the effort to secure a national memorial on federal land. In 1992, President George Bush authorized construction of a memorial to, “Commemorate the experience of American citizens of Japanese ancestry and their parents who patriotically supported this country despite their unjust treatment during World War II.” 

NJAMF raised $13 million to build the National Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During World War II, and in 2000 the Memorial was dedicated. Ownership of the Memorial was transferred to the United States Government in 2002, and the National Park Service is responsible for the maintenance of the Memorial today.

Today the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation strives to promote the history and legacy of National Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism as an American story, to remind Americans that what happened to Japanese Americans during World War II must not happen again to any other group, regardless of race, religion or national origin, and to remind the American people that great nations can also admit and redress great mistakes. 

NJAMF works to educate and raise public awareness about the Japanese American experience during WW II through various events, outreach programs and publications. The Japanese American experience is relevant today because it is a reminder of the fragility of the U.S. Constitution and how we must vigilantly guard our constitutional rights.