The year 2008 marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Liberties Act, the statute that provided redress to Japanese Americans for the World War II internment and the culmination of one of the most remarkable grassroots campaigns in the political history of the United States.
It was a difficult campaign that lasted 10 years, cost the JACL over $1 million, created a breach in the heart of the organization, and left the JACL floundering without purpose or direction for a decade after the campaign ended. The passage of the Civil Liberties Act was an achievement that could not have happened without the JACL's leadership and perseverance, and the organization should be proud of its role as we look back 20 years to that campaign.
As we celebrate this milestone anniversary year, we would do well to remember the ultimate goal and purpose of the redress campaign. Our determination in fighting for redress had a noble goal, which was to ensure that no group would ever fall victim to the type of injustice we experienced during WWII. History has shown that injustices that have gone unacknowledged and uncorrected have a way of repeating themselves.
While it's true that we fought for redress to vindicate the honor of JAs, we had no way of knowing that our loftier goal of preserving the foundations of democratic principles for the future would prove prescient. Who could have imagined 20 years ago that an occurrence greater than the horrors of Pearl Harbor lay in the making?
Sept. 11th, like that day of December 1941, is a day that will forever live in infamy. Like the attack at Pearl Harbor, the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center was quick and precise and left an indelible mark on the memory of the nation and of the world.
It was not unreasonable to expect that the government's response would equal the volatility of the moment. On Dec. 7th, the nation learned of the attack on Pearl Harbor by radio reports and saw the damage through photos in the next day's newspapers. On Sept. 11th, millions watched in horror as the Twin Towers collapsed upon themselves, taking the lives of thousands into the ash heap that remained. The images were provocative and unforgiving.
The government's response was a kind of numbed silence, with the usual clichéd responses from individual members of the administration and the Congress talking about terrorists and the threats to democracy. And like the opening volley of the war in the Pacific, it wasn't until the passing of a few weeks that we began to see in what direction the government was headed. In 1942, it was the internment, and in 2001, it was a chipping away at civil liberties.
Except for the immediate roundup of approximately 2,000 Arab and Muslim men, there was otherwise no movement to detain or confine the communities suspected of being a threat after 9/11, not that this wasn't something that was being discussed. There were plenty in the Congress who voiced the opinion that Arabs and Muslims residing in this country could not be trusted. All the classic reasons voiced in 1942 for an internment policy were being echoed by some in Washington after 9/11.
The one stark reminder of the need for wisdom was the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, and its companion government report, "Personal Justice Denied." As we lobbied our national leaders and cautioned them against actions similar to the follies of the internment, both the report and the Act were fundamental truths that argued against repeating history.
Their importance cannot be stated enough.
So as we commemorate this year and that landmark legislation 20 years ago, let us not forget that the ultimate meaning of the Civil Liberties Act was to ensure that we would not allow the Constitution to be rendered meaningless as it was in 1942, and that our actions and efforts 20 years past were meant for the future.
And that's something about which we can be very proud and truly celebrate.
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