TRCF Blog

Japanese American Internment Day of Remembrance

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 17:08:54 GMT

Examining the present through a lens to the past

(Picture of three Japanese-American youth behind barbed wire, with the text "Day of Remembrance: Japanese American Incarceration Executive Order 9066." Picture credit: WESPAC Foundation )

Over the past few years, U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement has been ravaging communities, separating families, kidnapping people off the street, and inciting violence. Politicians, and leaders within the Trump administration, have deemed these actions necessary in the name of “national security” and border control. However, state sanctioned violence against communities of color is something that rings all too familiar within the United States. State violence, inhumane detention, and the fracturing of families is something the United States is extremely familiar with. As we approach February 19, which is Japanese Internment Remembrance Day, it is incredibly important that we remember the horrific actions committed by the United States government, and that we also recognize the cycles repeating themselves.

In 1942, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States invoked the language of “national security” and fear mongering to commit one of the most notorious civil rights violations. Under Executive Order 9066, 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry were removed from their homes and forced into internment camps. These people were detained and imprisoned without hearings, reason, or charges; they were simply imprisoned because of their ethnicity. Families were given days, some given hours, to close businesses, sell property, and pack whatever they could carry. They were then transported to makeshift centers, which were often livestock facilities. They would often be there for months, before being transported to an internment camp, which included extremely inhumane conditions. Detainees faced overcrowded barracks, inadequate medical care, and constant surveillance and maltreatment from armed guards.

Today, ICE has detained about 70,000-75,000 people, marking a record high. ICE has kidnapped people off the street, entered homes and detained people with no warrant, shot U.S. citizens on the street with immunity, and incited violence in so many communities across the country. Detainees in ICE detention centers often have no contact with family and are housed in extremely inhumane conditions. These facilities lack adequate medical care, legal resources, and detainees face constant, militarized, violent surveillance. In terms of legality, ICE detainees often experience prolonged detention, lack of access to legal counsel, extremely backlogged courts, and are not given fair hearings, if any hearing at all. Most of these people have been detained simply because of the color of their skin, and the language they speak. Political leaders and human rights advocates have noted not only the inhumanity of current ICE operations, but also the unconstitutionality and illegality.

While we reflect on and remember the inhumanity of Japanese internment camps, it is also important to recognize the cycles of state violence. The United States has consistently utilized “national security” as a catalyst for racism, xenophobia, and fear. Japanese Internment Remembrance Day is not only about honoring those detained under Executive Order 9066, but it is also about questioning how such a grave injustice occurred in the first place. It serves as a reminder of how quickly civil liberties can be taken away when immorality is in power. The incarceration of Japanese Americans was once deemed just and necessary by those in power, but history has revealed a horrific crime against humanity. If remembrance is to mean anything, it must compel us to do better - to fight against injustice and inhumane treatment, it must force us to follow our moral compass.

My name is Maddie Morelli and I am in my final year of the BASW program at the University of Pittsburgh. For the 2025-26 school year, I will be interning at Three Rivers Community Foundation. I am extremely excited to learn from all the wonderful people at TRCF, as well as learn from the people in the community.

International Human Rights Day

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 21:54:17 GMT

Today, December 10, we celebrate and recognize International Human Rights Day. International Human Rights Day is celebrated annually, recognizing the United Nations’ Universal Declaration on Human Rights. The rights proclaimed aim to protect inalienable, fundamental human rights for persons in every nation. However, as we celebrate and recognize this day in the United States, I believe it is vital that we recognize the ways in which our government does not protect these rights.

The United States has played a hand, as well as a moral highground, in many treaties and declarations pertaining to the protection of human rights. However, this nation has ratified very few of these treaties. The United States has thus far ratified the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). Notably, the United States has not ratified Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

While the United States claims to be the land of liberty and justice, it is extremely clear domestically and internationally, that we will weaken our beliefs and enforcements regarding human rights to maintain a system of power imbalance. Per the American Civil Liberties Union, the United States utilizes the ability to attach a document called Reservations, Understandings, and Declarations to each ratification, making these declarations much harder to enforce. This should come as no surprise, considering that the United States currently violates many, if not all, of the inalienable rights proclaimed in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.

Within this specific post, and at this current moment, I would like to focus on two specific articles, but I encourage you all to read the declaration in its entirety ( https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights ) and reflect on the ways in which our government falls short in these protections.

In Article 9 of the declaration, it states “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile.” Not only has our prison industrial complex subjected many people, a majority people of color, to arbitrary arrest, but especially at this moment in time, we see Immigration Customs and Enforcement kidnapping people off the street. Articles 5-11 all pertain to just law enforcement, which has been an issue since the inception of the United States. Our legal systems target people of color as well as low income people, and make profit off of the horrible conditions these humans are kept in. Trials are unfair, police brutalize communities of color, and rehabilitation is not practiced. Within the very simple ideal of “no person shall be subject to arbitrary arrest,” we fail. Failure in that sentiment only showcases how our legal systems further violate human rights in every other facet.

Article 25 states “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.” This article is violated in every sense by the United States. In a country with 36.8 million people living in poverty, 27 million uninsured Americans, a country that has recently slashed the budget of food assistance programs, and a country that still has the federal minimum wage sitting at a measly $7.25 per hour, I find it curious, laughable almost, that we would even consider for a second that we uphold and enforce this right. Our country exploits the lower and working class, aiming to make money at every corner. Working individuals and families cannot make rent or pay their mortgage, they’re unable to pay for medications, putting food on the table is a concern for many, and some have to choose between keeping electricity or the copay for a doctor's visit. The United States does not only completely violate and disregard this right, but our systems attempt to make money off of the ways in which people struggle.

While our current state of affairs is far from perfect, and the current climate is somewhat abysmal, it does bring me peace and hope to recognize the everyday people in communities fighting for these rights. There are people everywhere doing grassroots work to fight for a future in which these rights are enforced and protected. I encourage you to take a look around in your community, recognize these people and organizations, stand with them, support them, fight for them, and take care of each other. We recognize this day not for our belief in the government to protect these rights, but more so for our belief in each other.

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AI Avenue Protest

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 18:03:39 GMT

On September 11, I had the opportunity to attend an environmental action and press conference put on by Protect Penn Trafford , “an organization dedicated to ensuring residents' safety, security, and quality of life by engaging in education and advocacy to protect the economic, environmental, and legal rights of the people in Westmoreland and Allegheny counties.” This action took place in opposition to an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Horizons conference that was occurring on the newly coined “AI Avenue.” AI Avenue is a one mile zone that stretches from Bakery Square to Duolingo Headquarters in East Liberty. The city of Pittsburgh, with support from city and state legislators, is looking to develop AI Avenue into an AI hub - an area where AI companies can headquarter themselves to develop and expand various AI software.

Nationally, Western Pennsylvania has been recognized as a new frontier in artificial intelligence. However, this new frontier comes with a price to pay for the constituents of the Southwestern Pennsylvania region. Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas have been ravaged by pollutant industries, like the steel industry, throughout history. The new AI boom would be no different. The supercomputer software of AI is housed in what are called data centers. These data centers are highly specialized facilities that complete the demands of AI. These data centers also use an absurd amount of electricit y. According to MIT , within the next year, AI alone is expected to use enough electricity equivalent to 22% of all US households.

Now, what does this development mean in terms of tangible effects? The result for local citizens is higher electric bills, higher water usage, and more pollutants in the surrounding area. An area that has already seen an immense amount of fracking and water pollutants would see a significant rise come the development of these data centers. Within the data centers, supercomputer servers get extremely hot with upticks in usage. To sustain the operations of AI, water is typically hauled from local watersheds to cool these servers through a cooling radiator system. Local environmental organizations are extremely concerned about the implications of this process for our local watersheds here in Pittsburgh.

Aside from the watersheds, AI also requires an immense amount of fossil fuel energy. To ensure that these data centers have the fuel they need to operate at optimal speed, fuel needs to be available around the clock. Development of data centers has consequentially led to an expansion of natural gas production via hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Southwestern Pennsylvania has already been the victim of fracking efforts. Many local residents and organizations over the years have raised concerns regarding petrochemical spillages, pollution of private water supplies, pollution of the soil, and pollution of the air. The environmental effects of fracking have been linked to various cancers, respiratory issues, and other health issues. While there have been small victories in the fight for environmental justice against fossil fuel efforts in Southwestern Pennsylvania, it is clear that the development of Pittsburgh as an AI hub would exponentially grow the fossil fuel industry in the region. Many environmental groups have not simply been rallying against AI, they’ve been rallying for legislators and developers to consider greener, renewable energy. The next action by Protect Penn Trafford is scheduled to take place on October 16, 2025, at 9:15 a.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn in Pittsburgh/Southpointe (located in Washington County).

ReelAbilities Film Festival Review

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 21:16:28 GMT

Thanks to TRCF, I was lucky enough to get a virtual pass to Film Pittsburgh’s ReelAbilities festival, a festival that chronicles disabilities in film, and amplifies disabled voices across the world. The festival consists of some full length feature films, documentaries, as well as film shorts. Every film was unique in its own way, focusing on different disabilities, and the way people with these disabilities lead their lives. Every film that I watched was not only inspiring, but forced me to think more critically about our society, and the way it operates. Each film tackles aspects of life those with disabilities have to face, and it also highlights the interplays of societal constructs and functions in a disabled persons’ livelihood.

The first film I watched was called The Color Book (2024), it was shot entirely in black and white, and it follows a Black father named Lucky learning how to navigate raising his son, Mason, who has Down syndrome, in the wake of his wife’s death. Through the movie, the father and son navigate endless hardships, from their car breaking down, getting separated at the train station, and even just learning how to exist with only each other. However, the main focal point of the film is how they navigate grief together. Through the film, Mason is never directly told that his mom has died. Lucky lets him know that it will just be the two of them from now on, but he is never directly spoken to about her death. To the viewer, it’s extremely clear that both Mason and Lucky are going through the grief process, they’re just not doing it together. Lucky seems to think Mason is just going on with life as per usual, watching baseball, coloring, and putting one foot in front of the other. However, Mason shows signs that he is grieving his mother, just as any child would. It isn’t until the end of the film when Mason directly says that all he wants is “mommy” does Lucky realize that Mason is grieving just the same as him. The end of the film speaks to the understanding they now feel for one another. This film was incredible, and I believe it spoke to a lot of predisposed notions society has. However, the biggest one I interpreted was the infantilization of those with Down syndrome. Even Mason’s own father somewhat thinks he can’t comprehend that his mom is gone, but Mason comprehends that, and he’s hurting. The Color Book was a stunning portrayal of hardship and humanity.

ReelAbilities had blocks of shorts as well. The first short I viewed was Calico (2024), which told the story of a high school girl with vitiligo, who is struggling with her self image. She then befriends a calico fish at her school, one that talks to her and convinces her to let him out into the wild. Through this short adventure to release her new fishy friend, she begins to accept herself more. She recognizes herself as unique, and that it’s something to be proud of. The short ends with her jumping into the school swimming pool, no longer hiding her skin, and embracing her newfound confidence. I felt that this short was a very feel-good film, from the adventure she takes with her talking fish, to beginning her journey of self love, Calico tells a beautiful story of acceptance.

Another film I watched in this shorts block was Izidor, which tells the story of a disabled Romanian orphan, named Izidor, who was kept in Romania’s asylums for “defective” children. This film was not only heartwrenching, but extremely informative. I had no idea that this had been a practice in Romania, or anywhere. These children that were deemed “defective” were not allowed outside of the asylum, and were subject to horrific abuse. One night, one of the nurses takes Izidor to her home. It should be noted that up until this point the entire film had been in animation, but as soon as he steps outside the gate, it becomes live action, which is a creative way to discuss what it means to be “human.” Izidor, for the first time, gets to experience the outside world, family, good food, and so much more. He ends up going back to the asylum the next day, as he was only allowed out for one night. However, Izidor learns that to be human is to belong. This film was heartbreaking, but it pushes the viewer to really consider what it means to belong, and how we can help others in the face of discrimination.

One of the other shorts in this block was Key of Genius, which tells the story of a piano teacher who is determined to teach a blind boy, Derek, who has autism. At the very beginning of the film, it becomes clear that the boy is a genius at the piano. His mother says that simply after hearing something he can play it. However, he has some aggression when trying to be taught. Nevertheless, the teacher is determined to figure out a way in which he can teach Derek. Through multiple trial and errors of teaching, the film ends with the teacher finally figuring out the way in which Derek likes to be taught. While it’s a relatively simple short film, it invites the viewer to not only remember, but also think more deeply about the ways in which everyone’s brain works differently. No two brains are the same, and no two people learn the same way; that difference should be celebrated.

One of the other short films in this block was called Romchyk, which told the true story of a Ukrainian boy who suffered severe physical burns on his body after a missile attack. The film not only follows Romchyk as he learns to deal with his new body, and life, but, it also focuses on his love of ballroom dancing. This film was extremely inspiring, and portrayed a boy overcoming unfathomable obstacles to continue doing what he loved.

Another short film in the block was called Unholy, and it told the story of a girl who was recently diagnosed with short bowel syndrome, and was adjusting to life with a feeding tube. In the film, she is part of a Jewish family, and the film centers around her attendance to Passover. Not only is she having to deal with all of the questions from her family about her condition, but she is also struggling with not being able to engage in the religious traditions of Passover like she used to. This film invites the viewer to critically consider the accessibility of religion, and what important religious traditions may make those with a disability feel ostracized. At the end of this film, the protagonist states that she feels “unholy.” Her father assures her that is not the case, but it does make the viewer ponder the struggles that those with disabilities may encounter while trying to practice their faith. I can honestly say that this is something that I have had the privilege to never consider, but now, it has made me aware that this can be a really harmful issue in terms of accessibility.

One of the final films I watched in the shorts block was At See, the story of a group of blind travelers who take their service dogs on a cruise. This film was honestly another feel good film that invites the viewer to consider accessibility in the world of tourism and traveling - another issue that I have never had to consider due to my privilege. This film was extremely informative, and really showcased what it is like for people who have to travel with service animals.

The final film I watched was a full length feature film called An Unquiet Mind, which was a documentary chronicling people’s lives who struggled with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). It followed two individuals, both living with different forms of OCD. The film simply tries to spread light on what OCD actually is, and how for many, it feels like your brain will never shut off. The film also emphasizes how debilitating OCD can be, and the strain it can have on your family, work, relationships, and your overall health. This film was not only incredibly informative, but it also really helped to portray what OCD is actually like for those who have it, versus the stigmas and preconceived notions society puts forth. This film was not only informative, but also quite inspiring. It showed the struggles those with OCD encounter, but also how they move forward every single day.

Overall, I am extremely grateful for my opportunity and experience to view ReelAbilities. It was an incredible festival that not only showcased and uplifted the voices of those with disabilities, but it also encouraged you to think more critically about the world and society around you. Many of the things people take for granted, are inaccessible to certain populations. We must all work together moving forward to create a world that is equal and accessible. And if you have any time, I encourage you to view some of these films, you might just look at things a little bit differently.

Housing Status as a Protected Class

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 18:30:16 GMT

Housing Status as a protected class

Through the City Code, the city of Pittsburgh has created “protected classes,” which aim to protect citizens against various forms of discrimination in different facets of life. These codes aim to prevent discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and city services. Protected classes prohibit the discrimination of individuals based on : race, color, sex, religion, ancestry, national origin, place of birth, ancestry, age (over 40 years of age), sexual orientation, handicap/disability, use of assistance/service animal, familial status, pregnancy/child birth, survivor of domestic violence, citizen or immigration status, preferred language, cultural hair textures/styles/coverings, and gender identity. Currently, the city of Pittsburgh is looking to add another protected class to the codes - housing status.

The official definition of housing status as a protected class would be as follows: The actual or perceived type of housing in which an individual resides, or previously resided in, whether publicly or privately owned; or the status of not having a fixed residence, including the status of living on the streets, in a homeless shelter, or similar temporary residence; or currently or formerly living in transitional, temporary, or shelter housing; or lacking a residential rental housing history in whole or in part.

The goal of this code would be to prevent discrimination against unhoused individuals, or those who have struggled to find and maintain stable housing in the past. This new city code would be especially helpful to this protected class when in search of housing/residence, and aims to protect potential tenants. Specifically, this code would aid in protecting individuals in instances where landlords require a housing history, or if the potential tenant receives funds from an organization/shelter in support of permanent housing. A denial by a landlord on the basis of previous/current housing status, or funding related to being unhoused, will be considered discriminatory within the city of Pittsburgh.

This ordinance would provide protection in multiple facets of life, but would specifically aid this population when in pursuit of more permanent housing. This ordinance is expected to be introduced to the City Council in September/October. Those who want to share their thoughts on this ordinance may contact their councilmembers directly, or appear for public comment. This post will be updated with the official ordinance and link to information once it is introduced to City Council.

Contact your councilmember and let them know what you think:

Bobby Wilson, District 1

Email: district1@pittsburghpa.gov

Phone: (412)255-2135

Theresa Kail-Smith, District 2

Email: theresa.kail-smith@pittsburghpa.gov

Phone: (412)255-8963

Bob Charland, District 3

Phone: (412)255-2130

Anthony Coghill, District 4

Phone: (412)255-2131

Barb Warwick, District 5

Email: district5@pittsburghpa.gov

Phone: (412)255-8965

Daniel Lavelle, District 6

Phone: (412)255-2134

Deb Gross, District 7

Email: district7@pittsburghpa.gov

Phone: (412)255-2140

Erika Strassburger, District 8

Email: district8@pittsburghpa.gov

Phone: (412)255-2133

Khari Mosely, District 9

Email: khari.mosely@pittsburghpa.gov

Phone: (412)255-2137

Alternate Phone: (412)255-8658

All Pittsburgh City Council meetings are held in the Council Chamber on the 5th floor of the City-County Building, located on 414 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, unless otherwise noted. Citizens must apply at least 24 hours in advance of meetings for public comment. You can find the application for public comment on www.pittsburghpa.gov . The next City Council meetings are scheduled for:

9/3, 10 AM

9/9, 10 AM

9/16, 10 AM

9/22, 10 AM

6 Tips For Success

Tue, 12 Mar 2019 16:48:38 GMT

It may be time to rethink everything you've ever learned about how to succeed in your professional life.