Summary

Celebrating the career of retiring director of the Asian Counseling and Referral Service

Story

Diane Narasaki is joined by staff from the Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS) and Councilmembers after the Council recognized the retiring Executive Director of ACRS.

For Diane Narasaki, it was a commitment forged from the barbed wire that imprisoned her parents during World War II and the court cases to protect the rights of Filipino cannery workers. A commitment to bring the concerns of the Asian and Pacific Islander community to the doors of the state capitol and to Congress.

Narasaki, who is retiring after 23 years as Executive Director of the Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS), was recognized today by the Metropolitan King County Council for a career dedicated to creating a better world for all communities of color.

Narasaki’s parents were among the 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans unjustly interned during the war. Her commitment to human rights grew out of their imprisonment and was directed towards aiding people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent.

Narasaki worked as co-chair of the committee that helped reverse the wartime conviction of King County native Gordon Hirabayashi. She supported Alaska native, Filipino and women cannery workers in the famous Atonio v. Wards Cove Packing Co. class action lawsuit.

For two decades, Narasaki has directed the work done ACRS, a nationally recognized nonprofit organization offering a broad array of behavioral health programs, human services and civic engagement activities for Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and other communities in King County.

Along with her work at ACRS, Narasaki was one of the founders of the Asian Pacific Islander Coalition, bringing thousands of API people to lobby the state legislature in Olympia on legislation and to organize on issues impacting their community. She has been involved with a number of human rights organizations including American Friends Service Committee, Northwest Labor and Employment Law Office – LELO.

While Diane Narasaki is taking a step back from ACRS, she is not stepping back from her commitment to protecting the rights of all communities that live in King County.

“Diane is leaving a tremendous legacy based on her incredible years of work as the Executive Director at ACRS,” said Councilmember Larry Gossett, the sponsor of the recognition. “While we know that she is not retiring from social justice work, our communities and the King County Council would like to thank her for all she has contributed towards the building of the beloved community in Martin Luther King County.”

WHEREAS, Diane Narasaki’s vision and commitment to build a just world was formed out of the social unrest of the 1960s, and the experiences of her parents and the 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans who were unjustly interned during World War II; and

WHEREAS, Diane Narasaki served as Executive Director of the Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS) for 23 years, along with serving in leadership positions at the American Friends Service Committee, Northwest Labor and Employment Law Office – LELO and the Wing Luke Asian Museum; and

WHEREAS, Diane Narasaki’s passion for social justice included co-chairing the committee that helped reverse the wartime conviction of King County native Gordon Hirabayashi and standing up for Alaska native, Filipino and women cannery workers in the famous Atonio v. Wards Cove Packing Co. class action lawsuit; and

WHEREAS, Diane Narasaki’s collaborative leadership and vision to empower Asian and Pacific Islanders led to the co-founding of the Washington statewide Asian Pacific Islander Coalition, bringing thousands of API people to lobby the state legislature on legislation and to organize on issues impacting their community and others; and

WHEREAS, Diane Narasaki has served on the prestigious White House Initiative on Asian Pacific Islanders, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Center for Mental Health Services National Advisory Council, and the Washington State Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission; and

WHEREAS, Diane Narasaki’s work on human rights issues from mental health, addiction, education, transportation, civic engagement, political empowerment, domestic violence, police accountability, international workers solidarity, and economic development have impacted thousands of lives; and

NOW, THEREFORE, we, the Metropolitan King County Council, recognize and honor

as she retires as the Executive Director of ACRS, knowing that as one of Martin Luther King County’s most important and influential leaders she will remain an active resident.

DATED this twenty-second day of October, 2018.