Redress groups meet in a joint ‘summit,’ and Nisei Week and Nihonmachi fairs preview

Vol. 101, No. 5, August 2, 1985. 8 pages. View this issue

The front page carried news of a redress “summit meeting” on July 13 at JACL National Headquarters in San Francisco, where representatives of JACL, LEC, NCRR, NCJAR and WCR met together. Observers from Go For Broke, Inc. and the coram nobis legal teams also took part. The groups agreed to support both the legislative campaign for HR 442/S 1053 and the class action lawsuit. The front page also reported that the House passed the Hate Crimes Statistics Act, with comments from Rep. Norman Mineta.

Inside are previews of the Nihonmachi Street Fair in San Francisco’s Japantown and the Nisei Week Festival in Little Tokyo, plus columns by Bill Hosokawa, Barry Saiki and J.K. Yamamoto. JACL President Frank Sato profiled eight leadership program participants, and several chapters announced scholarship winners. Bob Shimabukuro’s column closes the issue with news of an award for the paper.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• Redress Organizations Hold ‘Summit Meeting’, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Representatives of major redress organizations, including JACL, LEC, NCRR, NCJAR, and WCR, met at JACL National Headquarters in San Francisco on July 13 for an unprecedented joint meeting. The groups agreed to support both the legislative campaign for HR 442/S 1053 and the class action lawsuit, and expressed interest in continued joint meetings and a nationwide event to demonstrate community support for redress.

National

• Senators Push for Aid for Pacific Islanders, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Sen. Spark Matsunaga joined Sen. Paul Simon in sponsoring the Institutional Aid Act of 1985, which would create a funding set-aside for colleges serving large numbers of Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander students. The bill establishes eligibility criteria and a minimum $5 million set-aside for institutions serving these underserved student populations.
• House Passes ‘Hate Crime’ Statistics Legislation, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The House of Representatives unanimously passed the Hate Crimes Statistics Act on July 23, requiring the Justice Dept. to compile data on crimes motivated by religious, racial and ethnic hatred. Rep. Norman Mineta, a co-sponsor, said the legislation would provide undeniable statistics to counter claims that such data is merely anecdotal.

Community

• Student Newspaper May Be ‘Absorbed’, by Reggie Chun, page 1. UCLA’s Pacific Ties and five other student publications face consolidation into one or two tabloid papers under proposals from the Communications Board, following a $100,000 budget cut. Opponents, including the Asian Coalition and Graduate Student Assn., argue the move would weaken coverage of minority issues and are seeking to delay the vote until fall quarter.
• Artists Voice Opposition to Apartheid, by Mark Jue, page 3. As South Africa’s government imposed a state of emergency resulting in arrests and deaths of Blacks, Asian American artists in San Francisco gathered on July 20 to perform and voice opposition to apartheid at an event sponsored by East Wind magazine. Performers included poet-playwright Genny Lim, musicians, and a Stanford student who argued for full U.S. corporate divestment from South Africa.
• Nihonmachi Street Fair Tradition Continues, by Jane Kaihatsu, page 3. San Francisco’s Nihonmachi Street Fair, now in its 11th year, is set for August 3-4, bringing together music, Asian food, and community organizations in Japantown. Organizers and artists like Leland Wong, who has designed posters since its inception, describe the event as a celebration of Asian American identity and solidarity that has grown from humble beginnings despite early resistance from established groups.
• Nisei Week Festival Still Going Strong, by Katie Kaori Hayashi, page 3. The Nisei Week Festival, running August 10-18 in Little Tokyo, traces its history back to 1934 when merchants started it to stimulate business during the Depression. Organizers say the festival’s purpose has evolved into fostering Japanese American community awareness, with this year’s events including a parade featuring kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjuro XII, astronaut Ellison Onizuka, and actor George Takei.
• Contra Costa Chapter to Celebrate 50th Anniversary, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Contra Costa JACL chapter will celebrate 50 years of existence with a dinner/dance on Sept. 7 at the Mira Vista Country Club, featuring Rep. Norman Mineta as the keynote speaker. Reservations and donations are being coordinated through committee chair Natsuko Irei.
• Olympia Chapter Awards Scholarships, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Olympia JACL awarded chapter scholarships to Kimiko Emizawa and Christine Farler, both graduates of Timberline High School, at a Graduation Dinner on June 22. Emizawa plans to attend the University of Washington, while Farler will attend Tacoma Community College.
• Mt. Olympus Chapter Honors Graduates, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Mt. Olympus JACL chapter honored scholarship recipients Julia Mori, Pamela Kobayashi, and Scot Shimizu at a Graduation Recognition Dinner on June 12 attended by about 60 members and graduates. Salt Lake City commissioner M. Tom Shimizu also received an award for Outstanding Community Service.
• Honolulu Chapter Names Scholarship Recipients, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Mary Tarutani and Caroline Otani were named recipients of Honolulu JACL’s two chapter scholarships. Tarutani plans to study English as a second language and Japanese at Stanford, while Otani is pursuing a nursing degree at the University of Hawaii.

Arts & Entertainment

• ‘Fools’ Dance’ Garners Another Honor, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The film ‘Fools’ Dance’ by Karen Ishizuka and Robert Nakamura was selected for special screening at the XIII International Congress of Gerontology in New York. The film, starring Mako, is part of the ‘Silk Screens’ series to be broadcast on PBS, and Nakamura recently received the first Steve Tatsukawa Memorial Award for his contributions to Asian American media.

Commentary

• A Japanese ‘Eiga’, page 4. The columnist recounts an impromptu outing with friends to see the Japanese film ‘The Ballad of Narayama,’ a Cannes award-winning movie about an elderly woman in a 19th-century mountain village facing a custom of abandoning the aged. The writer reflects on the film’s surprisingly explicit content and compares the shift in depictions of Japanese culture to his boyhood notions of samurai propriety.
• The Vernaculars, by J.K. Yamamoto, page 4. The columnist surveys the landscape of Japanese American and Asian American community newspapers across the U.S. and Canada, noting Pacific Citizen’s unique position as the only nationwide all-English Japanese American newspaper. He also discusses the struggles of niche publications like the now-folded Nikkei Sentinel and the threatened Pacific Ties at UCLA.
• Lack of Cohesion, by John T. Omori, page 4. A letter writer compares the Japanese American redress movement to the stalled American Indian land claims issue in Maine, warning that a lack of cohesive effort could doom redress efforts. He also raises a practical complaint about mailing labels covering photos when readers try to preserve newspaper clippings.
• A Question of Expertise, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa discusses the idea of Japanese Americans serving as bridges in U.S.-Japan trade relations, citing UCLA professor William Ouchi’s view that such a role must develop naturally through genuine expertise rather than being imposed by ethnicity. He cautions against the stereotype that Japanese Americans are automatically suited to be intermediaries simply because of their heritage.
• Thank God I’m Stupid, by Barry Saiki, page 5. Saiki recounts an anecdote from his military service in Japan under an autocratic major, describing how he humorously protested being sidelined by posting a satirical memo titled ‘Thank God I’m Stupid.’ The episode led to a shift in his assignments and prompted reflections on leadership qualities and the importance of organizations like JACL listening to their rank-and-file membership.
• Some Good News, Some Bad, by Bob Shimabukuro, page 8. Shimabukuro humorously recounts the Pacific Citizen office’s ongoing struggles with broken air conditioning and malfunctioning typesetting equipment, forcing staff to commute to Fullerton to produce the paper. He shares the good news that PC will receive the John Anson Ford Award from the L.A. County Commission on Human Relations for its coverage of multi-ethnic issues.

JACL

• Eight Who Excel, by Frank Sato, page 5. JACL National President Frank Sato profiles eight outstanding Sansei and Yonsei participants in the Second National JACL Washington, D.C. Leadership Program, highlighting their professional achievements and community involvement. He expresses optimism about the future of JACL leadership based on meeting with this group during their Washington visit.
• TACL, by John Saito, page 6. John Saito describes his role in advising the newly formed Taiwanese American Citizens League (TACL), which held its inaugural convention on July 13 at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles with nearly 1,000 attendees. He recounts being invited to speak and share JACL’s 56 years of experience and resources with the new organization.
• JACL-Blue Shield Committee Feted, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Blue Shield of California hosted a dinner honoring the JACL-Blue Shield Administrative Committee, marking 20 years of the health plan’s service, with a plaque presented to chairman John Yasumoto. The plan, started in 1964 by the Northern California Western Nevada District Council, is open to JACL members aged 18-64 and allows those over 65 to integrate benefits with Medicare.

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