Newsletter: November is Native American Heritage Month
Happy National Native American Heritage Month from the Caroline and Ora Smith Foundation! We honor the past history and current contributions and resiliency of the indigenous peoples of North America.
During November, we also honor veterans, particularly Native American veterans, for their service and sacrifice for our country. Native Americans serve in the military in greater percentages than other groups. I have a personal and heartfelt affinity for World War II veterans as my late father, Harold Smith (pictured here), served in the Pacific on the U.S.S. Intrepid, an aircraft carrier that is now a museum permanently docked in New York.
So, recently, when I heard the story of another WWII veteran – who is 99 years old – and wrote a book about his life and his love affair with his beloved late wife, Nellie, I knew the Caroline and Ora Smith would co-sponsor this very special Veteran’s Day program. Mr. Lou Moore, who is Chinese American, will discuss his book Eternal Love on November 11, 2021 at 1 p.m. CT via Zoom. The details are below.
As an additional extraordinary part of the program, Mr. Moore will be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal live toward the end of the session. Clearly, this is a not-to-be-missed program!
And, if you missed our two powerful programs on Indian Boarding Schools on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, you can still review the recordings. The details are below.
Wishing everyone a wonderful Native American Heritage Month!
Mary Smith
Chair and CEO
Caroline and Ora Smith Foundation
Eternal Love: Tales of Love and War Through the Eyes of a Soldier
Date: Thursday, November 11, 2021
Time: 2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. ET
Format: Free non-CLE Webinar
Joint Sponsors: ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
Co-Sponsors: ABA Center for Public Interest Law, ABA Coalition on Racial and Justice, ABA Commission on Disability Rights, ABA Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights & Responsibilities, ABA Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, ABA Council for Diversity in the Educational Pipeline, ABA Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division, ABA Standing Committee on Armed Forces Law, ABA Standing Committee on Legal Assistance for Military Personnel, ABA Standing Committee on Public Education, Caroline and Ora Smith Foundation, Chinese American WWII Veterans Recognition Project, Japanese American National Museum, Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates
DESCRIPTION:
Please join the ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association for a very special Veteran’s Day program with Louis Moore, who is 99-years-old and a World War II veteran. He will talk about his beloved wife, Nellie, and the book he wrote, Eternal Love, about their life together.
This program will conclude with a truly memorable moment when Mr. Moore will be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
They met in 1946 right after WWII had ended. He saw her as a dancer at the China Doll nightclub in New York City. He could not take his eyes off of her. Weeks later, a chance meeting in a coffee shop launched a decades-long love affair between a Chinese American soldier who was trying to restart his life after the war and a Japanese American woman trying to rebuild her life after the U.S. Government incarcerated her and her family at the Gila River Relocation Center.
Mr. Moore has lived history through the last century, despite discriminatory laws such as the Japanese internment and laws preventing Asian Americans from purchasing homes. Hear from Mr. Moore about his life, his love and his resilience that propels him forward. Mr. Moore’s story is even more poignant and compelling during this time where we have seen a rise in anti-Asian violence.
Speaker:
Louis Moore – Author, Eternal Love
Congressional Gold Medal Presentation:
Maj. Gen. Robert G.F. Lee – U.S. Army (ret.)
Co-Moderators:
Wendy C. Shiba – Former President, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association; Member, Board of Trustees, Japanese American National Museum
Mary L. Smith – Former Secretary, American Bar Association; Chair, Caroline and Ora Smith Foundation
Celebrate Native American Heritage Month with this curated collection of resources honoring the contributions and influence of American Indians and Alaska Natives to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States.
This toolkit, curated by the National Women’s History Museum (NWHM), offers a variety of resources highlighting Native American women who have made, and are making, history as trailblazers, advocates, leaders, storytellers, and artists.
Happy Native American Heritage Month!
ICYMI: Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Thank you to our presenters Laura van Schilfgaarde, Secretary Deb Haaland, Mary Smith, and co-sponsors, for conducting two virtual programs on Indigenous Peoples Day on the history of boarding schools and their lasting impact on generations of Indigenous people throughout the United States and Canada.
