The Weber ruling, the redress ballot and a $267,000 scholarship gift

Vol. 89, No. 50, July 6, 1979. 8 pages. View this issue

The Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss Brian Weber’s reverse discrimination suit led this 8-page issue, with JACL and Washington JACL praising the ruling as a boost for affirmative action. Ron Ikejiri’s Washington Wrap-Up compared it with the Bakke decision. Redress ran close behind: chapters faced a July 9 deadline to return ballots on the National Board’s commission approach, and Bill Marutani and three letter writers weighed in. The estate of Henry and Chiyo Kuwahara left roughly $267,000 to JACL for scholarships, a gift JACL president Clifford Uyeda tied to the Issei emphasis on education.

Elsewhere, Clifford Uyeda wrote of 442nd veterans humiliated on their way home, and Bill Hosokawa wrote on Vietnam’s boat people. Derek Tatsuno’s All-American honor, the International Whaling Commission meeting, a Tule Lake book notice, chapter news, Tanabata festivals and a West Los Angeles JACL tour of Japan fill out the pages.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• JACL hails ruling on Weber case, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Supreme Court dismissed the reverse discrimination suit of Brian Weber, upholding voluntary private-sector affirmative action plans. JACL and Washington JACL praised the decision as a boost for affirmative action and fair practice.

National

• LULAC sees census key issue for U.S. Hispanics, by P.C. Staff, page 1. LULAC identifies the census as a key issue for Hispanic Americans. The organization urges participation to ensure fair representation.
• Eskimo whaling vs. moratorium major IWC issue, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The International Whaling Commission meeting in July 1979 will weigh a whaling moratorium and the Alaska Eskimo Bowhead hunt. The U.S. position is weakened by Eskimo whalers setting their own quota, and pro-whaling nations threaten conservation efforts.
• July 9 deadline for redress ballot nears, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Chapters must return mail ballots by July 9 on ratifying the National Board’s endorsement of a congressional commission approach to redress. The Seattle Redress Committee objects that the commission approach departs from the Salt Lake Convention mandate.
• Bakke case decision left HEW programs almost entirely unaffected, by P.C. Staff, page 2. HEW Secretary Joseph Califano says the Bakke decision left the department’s civil rights and affirmative action programs almost entirely unaffected. A departmental study found its programs rested on findings of past discrimination.

Community

• Henry-Chiyo Kuwahara Estate wills $267,000 to scholarships, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The estate of Henry and Chiyo Kuwahara left roughly $267,000 to the JACL for scholarships, the largest single gift of its kind to the organization. JACL president Clifford Uyeda called the gift a continuation of the Issei emphasis on education.
• Wendy Hanamura amasses $19,000 in scholarships, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Oakland High senior Wendy Hanamura won about $19,000 in scholarships, including Pacific Gas & Electric and Bay Area Engineers Week awards. The Oakland Tribune praised her message that opportunities are available to students who take advantage of them.
• Appointment to Annapolis speeds up naturalization, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Riverside student Tomoko Ishikawa, a permanent resident, was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy, which sped up her naturalization. Her high school adviser praised her academic record and character.
• Salinas to honor its Mayor Hibino, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Friends of Henry Hibino will honor the three-term Salinas mayor with a recognition dinner, and the city council declared July 6 Henry K. Hibino Day. Hibino first served as a parks commissioner before his election to the council in 1971.
• Mountain Plains district re-elects Kawamoto, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Mountain Plains District Council meeting in Albuquerque re-elected Mits Kawamoto as district governor and installed new officers. Workshops covered redress and the future of JACL.
• Chapter pulse: Contra Costa, East Los Angeles, Fremont, Hoosier, Marin County, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Chapter news includes Contra Costa’s picnic and fundraising for East Bay Issei Housing, East Los Angeles’s benefit steak bake, Fremont’s graduation honors, Hoosier’s picnic and bus trip, and Marin County’s member spotlights.
• Pacific Sq. marks Tanabata, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Pacific Square shopping center in Gardena is celebrating Tanabata Matsuri with paper decorations and a July 7 koto concert and bon dance. Local Japanese retirement home residents donated the decorations.
• West Los Angeles JACL Autumn Tour of Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The West Los Angeles JACL announces an autumn 1979 tour of Japan with a 14-day land itinerary and optional Hokkaido extension. Pricing and contacts for reservations are included.

Sports

• Tatsuno named All-American, may sign with San Diego, by P.C. Staff, page 1. University of Hawaii pitcher Derek Tatsuno was named to the 1979 All-American Division 1 first team and was picked by the San Diego Padres in the draft. He set several NCAA pitching records this season.

Obituaries

• Beaths, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A roundup of deaths including Minoru Harada, Christian Nakama, Joe Sano, Hidenori Sueoka and Hoover Tateishi. Each entry notes career highlights and surviving family.
• Kuwahara estate note and background, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Continuation of the Kuwahara story describes the late Henry Kuwahara’s career and his Issei roots from Niigata. Family members recall his self-taught wisdom and the scholarship legacy.

Commentary

• Letters to the editor on redress, by Mike Iwatsubo; Minoru Masuda; Gunnar Oldsborg, page 4. Readers debate redress: Mike Iwatsubo questions the National JACL’s focus on redress, Minoru Masuda argues the National Board overstepped its authority, and Gunnar Oldsborg comments on the Awa Maru sinking. The letters reflect deep division within the community.
• President’s Corner: Remembrance, by Clifford Uyeda, page 4. Uyeda recounts how 442nd veterans were humiliated on their way home from the war, including one stripped of his uniform and jailed in Los Angeles. He argues these stories must be told so that America cannot forget its history.
• Washington Wrap-Up: Weber Case, by Ron Ikejiri, page 4. Ikejiri analyzes the Supreme Court’s Weber ruling permitting private employers to adopt voluntary affirmative action. He contrasts it with the Bakke decision and calls it a major psychological lift for the civil rights movement.
• A Cadillac at $50,000 vs. Quality, by Nobuyuki Nakajima, page 4. Nakajima argues with a friend about U.S. trade complaints over Japanese car tariffs, concluding that quality, not tariffs, limits American car sales in Japan. He suggests the trade deficit debate overlooks product competitiveness.
• East Wind: Redress, by Bill Marutani, page 4. Marutani opposes individual payments of $25,000 as an insult to American liberty but supports seeking redress from the government. He argues that monetary acknowledgment is needed and that petitioning for redress is a constitutional right.
• From the Frying Pan: Tragedy of Vietnam’s Boat People, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa condemns Vietnam’s forced expulsion of ethnic Chinese boat people and the silence of nations and groups that could respond. He notes that Japanese Americans, who suffered their own injustice, have been notably silent on this issue.
• Eskimo whaling and the IWC: Australia bans whaling, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser announced a ban on whaling in Australian waters and an extension of protections. The report accompanies coverage of the IWC meeting and the CITES conservation listings.
• Random Musings: The Celestial Couple, by Robert H. Kono, page 8. Kono recalls postwar Japanese festivals in a Shikoku town and describes the Tanabata star festival, with its legend of the celestial lovers. He explains how the festival evolved in Japan from Chinese origins.

Military & Veterans

• Tule Lake book announcement, by P.C. Staff, page 6. A book advertisement describes Tule Lake, a novel about Japanese Americans incarcerated at the Tule Lake camp during World War II. It explores loyalty questions and the No-No Boys.

In-Depth

• Pacific Overtures and Nikkei experience conference, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Asilomar Conference III in Monterey will examine the Nikkei experience of femaleness and maleness with speakers and interest sessions. Related cultural events are also noted.

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