Ina Sugihara was born in Colorado and spent time during her childhood in both Colorado and Long Beach, California. At the time of US entry into World War II she was working as a secretary with the ACLU's Northern California office. With assistance from her employer, she was able to avoid incarceration and move to New York in early 1942, where from 1942-1943 she served as an assistant to John Thomas of the ABHMS. She subsequently worked for the Protestant Welfare Council and the Federal Council of Churches, and was also a founding member of the New York chapters of the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE) and the Japanese American Citizens’ League (JACL) in 1943. Sugihara became heavily involved in JACL activities following the war, eventually becoming national secretary of the organization in 1950.
Biography