2028 represents the 40th anniversary of the historic signing of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 by President Ronald Reagan.

It would be appropriate for the JACL and all of the community organizations, groups and individuals to gather together to honor President Reagan at the Reagan Presidential Library and Institute in Simi Valley and perhaps invite President George W. Bush as the keynote speaker.

2029 represents the 100th anniversary of the JACL. Let’s celebrate this historic event at the newly dedicated Obama Presidential Library in Chicago and perhaps invite President Obama as the keynote speaker.

Starting now, the JACL should focus its influence towards achieving three broad-stroke objectives:

• An American of Japanese ancestry as a Supreme Court justice

• The next ambassador to the United Nations be an American of Japanese ancestry

• The next ambassador to Japan from the United States be an American of Japanese ancestry

In the mid-1980s, I was engaged by the National Italian American Foundation to assist and organize a national New York City conference of local, regional, and national organizations. The objective: “To come together with the goal of having the next Supreme Court justice of the United States be an Italian.”

Why was I hired? The reason given to me was that since I was not Italian American I did not have any bias or preconceived prejudices or deep-rooted understanding of traditional and centuries-old infighting of Italian American groups. Because of that lack of understanding, I could help all of the disparate groups focus on the objective.

In 1986, Antonin Scalia was nominated by President Reagan and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a vote of 98-0. In 2005, Samuel Alioto became the second Italian American to become a Supreme Court justice. Two out of nine justices were Italian American.