The JACL Book Club selection for 2020 is “The Block Manager: A True Story of Love in the Midst of Japanese American Internment Camps” by Judy Mundle published by Open Books Press. St. Louis resident Ms. Mundle wrote the story based on her close friend and long time co-worker and St. Louis JACL member, Janice (Janet) Koizumi.

St. Louis JACL held its annual Book Club discussion on January 10, 2020 and was honored to have Ms. Mundle in attendance. Additionally Ms. Mundle was the keynote speaker at the “Day of Remembrance” St. Louis JACL event at The Lodge on February 16, 2020 which was attended by approximately 60 persons. The “Day of Remembrance” observes the February 19, 1942, Franklin D. Roosevelt signing of Executive Order 9066, which authorized the incarceration of Japanese and Japanese Americans.