Announcing the AASLH 2026 Albert B. Corey Award Winner
AASLH 2026 Leadership in History Awards
Japanese American Citizens League, Washington, D.C. Chapter
Recognized with Albert B. Corey Award
For over eighty years, AASLH has given Leadership in History Awards to establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history in order to make the past more meaningful to all people. This week we are announcing the 2026 Leadership in History Award recipients.
The Albert B. Corey Award recognizes primarily volunteer-operated historical organizations and projects that best display the qualities of vigor, scholarship, and imagination in their work. This is an award made at the discretion of the Awards Committee and is AASLH’s most prestigious award for all-volunteer institutions and initiatives.
The 2026 Albert B. Corey Award goes to the Japanese American Citizens League, Washington, D.C. Chapter for But, Where Are You REALLY From? Teaching the Next Generation About Japanese American History.
The graphic novel But Where Are You REALLY From? is a project of the Washington D.C. Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL DC) examining the history and contributions of Japanese Americans, helping students recognize themselves as part of the broader American story, and exploring a historical injustice to build awareness and prevent similar harm in the future. The novel addresses the Japanese American experience of immigration and arrival; early work as laborers; the challenges of racism, wartime incarceration, and military heroism; and the anti-Asian hate that is present today. The authors are Japanese Americans who used their lived experience as well as interviews with elders in their local community to craft the powerful storyline.
The publication was developed to support the Montgomery County, Maryland, Public Schools (MCPS) 5th grade social studies curriculum, which was launched in 2024. The authors worked closely with the MCPS Social Studies staff to design a product that would support their learning objectives and include relevant vocabulary words as well as infographics, maps, and historical profiles of nationally significant Japanese Americans. The graphic novel was accepted as part of the MCPS core curriculum in the spring of 2025 and has been distributed digitally to every MCPS elementary school. The publication is for sale on the JACL DC website, and has been purchased by JACL chapters and museums nationwide. A virtual museum is currently being developed in association with the project so that students, teachers or anyone else who might be interested in more history or protocols for social activism can easily access the materials. Additional plans include translating the book for elementary immersion schools into Chinese, French, and Spanish.
When originally asking MCPS to collaborate on a graphic novel, it was envisioned to be a short 10-12 page resource for a high school Asian American studies course funded by a $6,000 grant. However, MCPS asked for stories on immigration, the Japanese American incarceration during World War II, and anti-Asian hate crime issues to tie into their new Grade 5 curriculum. This request broadened the scope tremendously to what is now a 100-page novel. As a result, a great deal more fundraising was necessary, including applying for additional grants and asking organizations with similar missions for sponsorship.
In the words of a reviewer, “But, Where Are You REALLY From? stands as a thoughtfully researched and collaboratively developed project that advances inclusive historical interpretation for young audiences. Its strengths in scholarship, local narrative integration, educator collaboration, and measurable classroom impact are substantial, demonstrating how graphic storytelling can serve as a powerful public history tool connecting community memory with broader civil rights history.”
