I've made a statement in the past (more than once) both here and in speeches that has irked a lot of people (sometimes immensely) and has drawn quiet praise from others, and that is this:
If not for the JACL, redress would never have happened.
A bold statement perhaps, maybe even an arrogant one. But it's true. Had the JACL not gotten involved with redress, the Japanese American community would very likely still be waiting to see a bill get out of the Congress.
Before going any further, let me also say that without the Big Four, as we referred to them (Dan Inouye and Spark Matsunaga in the Senate, Norm Mineta and Bob Matsui in the House), we never would have seen a redress bill emerge. Clearly, they were the most critical piece in the whole picture once the legislative battle began, and we all owe them our thanks for their personal commitments in shepherding the two JACL-sponsored redress bills through the Congress.
But there was a critical moment early in the campaign, and that came when the JACL decided to seek legislation to establish a federal commission to investigate the circumstances that led to the WWII exclusion and internment policies.
It was a tough decision for us, for not one of us who were involved in that decision wanted it. But we recognized the political realities of D.C. and knew no other course would get us to the end we sought.
And let me say for the record, we were not forced into that decision, as many seem to believe. Dan Inouye said to me, "You're the ones who went through the internment, this is your decision. Tell me what bill you want to introduce and we'll do the best we can to get it passed." It was our decision alone to seek the commission.
But it was an unpopular decision that got an immediate and ugly reaction. As I've said before, we took a huge beating for that decision and were harshly criticized and excoriated for taking that step.
But there's an important point to remember.
Hardly anyone agreed with our decision. Not the community by a long shot. Not even most of the JACL members.
The course we chose was so unpopular that no other group helped push for passage of the commission bill.
It was clear to me that only the most devoted and loyal old guard JACLers helped support the legislative effort across the country. Many in the community and in the JACL stood by and hoped we would fail so they could see "real" redress legislation introduced.
In fact, two other bills were introduced, one sponsored by a group in Seattle, and one by the NCRR in Los Angeles. Both bills were a challenge to us as direct appropriations bills, but neither stood a chance in hell of passing and only became distractions because they offered those congressmen only lukewarm on redress an out by saying they were supporting one of the other appropriations bills. As a result, we lost crucial votes but we still prevailed.
The commission bill passed and a blue-ribbon panel was established and ultimately played a critical role in paving the way for a redress bill. The commission's work gained national publicity each time it held public hearings (and it held nine) and again when it issued its report in December 1983, and yet again when it issued its recommendations six months later in June 1984.
The work of the commission helped raise the issue of the internment in the American conscience. There's no doubt about that fact. And for the first time, the internment became part of American history, and the commission's 400-page report articulating racism as a root cause for the government's policy became part of the nation's official record.
Without that report, without the enormous publicity generated by the hearings and the report, without the awareness across the country, without the recommendations that urged monetary compensation and an apology, we never would have had a chance with any legislation.
So why bring all this up again? Because those who've written the history of redress seem to forget the significant and critical role the JACL played, not just at the beginning of the campaign but throughout it.
And also just to set the record straight.
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