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Lillian Kimura, the first woman to be elected National President of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) and long-time JACL leader, was among this year’s three recipients of the Ina Kay Award from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The ceremony took place on Nov. 17 at the Kennedy Center in the nation’s capital.

The award is ADL’s most prestigious and visible award. It recognizes individuals for extraordinary acts of courage in confronting intolerance and injustice, extremism and terrorist. Ina and Jack Kay worked tirelessly to improve the lives of those around them with involvement in many worthwhile causes. Their two daughters, Lauren and Shelley, presented the awards, along with emcee Steven H. Schram, Washington, D.C. Regional Board Chair of the ADL.

Cast members of the award-winning TV series “Mad Men,” including Vincent Kartheiser, Christina Hendricks, and Elisabeth Moss, narrated the stories of the three outstanding women honorees. Some 2,500 people present heard Lillian’s story first.

During World War II, Lillian and her family were among the Japanese interned in a concentration camp. Her family was uprooted from their home and taken to Manzanar when she was 13 years old. Later settling in Chicago and New York, Lillian became active in the JACL and worked on the Redress Movement, which provided for reparations and an apology for Japanese Americans interned during WWII. The ADL was an early supporter of the Redress movement.

Lillian speaks to school groups to tell them of her experience when she was their age. She reminds them that we should learn about and remember this event of discrimination and hatred so that it does not happen again to any group.

Now retired from her position with the YWCA in New York, she continues to serve diligently in her New York Chapter and on the Eastern District Council of the JACL, as well as in many other areas. The presentation was an opportunity for thousands to hear of the Japanese American experience.

Another award recipient was Judge Melissa Powers. As a prosecutor, she was responsible for securing a confession that closed a 17-year old case involving the murders of two African American children in Ohio. The third recipient was Sergeant Major Ronit Tubol of the Israel Police Force, who miraculously survived and recovered after a suicide bomber boarded a bus in which she was riding.

The ADL, now in its 95th year, held its first ADL In Concert Against Hate in 1995 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust. The National Symphony Orchestra provided cultural numbers at last month’s event.