Redress, the JACL lobbying fund and Bill Marutani on the camps

Vol. 101, No. 17, October 25, 1985. 12 pages. View this issue

The October 25, 1985 issue returned again and again to redress. Representatives of NCRR, NCJAR and JACL gave progress reports at a joint program in Los Angeles, with J.K. Yamamoto reporting and Peter Irons commenting on the appeal. Inside, two JACL pieces covered the cost of the Legislative Education Committee’s lobbying drive, and a pledge report put the year’s redress total at over $213,000. On the commentary pages, Bill Marutani wrote about the Tule Lake camp where he was incarcerated and why he called such camps what officials of the time called them, concentration camps. Bob Shimabukuro and Bill Hosokawa also wrote columns.

Elsewhere, David Mas Masumoto described the 1985 fruit market collapse as a Fresno-area farmer, and Harry Honda reviewed Donald E. Collins’ book on Japanese Americans who renounced their citizenship during the war. The front page also covered tensions among fishermen in San Francisco and a Philadelphia study of Black-Asian confrontations. This was a 12-page issue.

What’s in this issue

National

• Sex Harassment Claims Dismissed Against Honolulu Councilman, page 1. A Honolulu circuit court judge dismissed sexual harassment claims against former city councilman Toraki Matsumoto, who lost his recall election days earlier. Matsumoto’s attorney had sought to dismiss four claims in the lawsuit filed by former aide Lisa Conant, but other claims including privacy violation and wrongful discharge remain pending.
• Meeting Held to Avoid Violence Between Fishermen, page 1. Fishermen and police met in San Francisco to ease tensions between Vietnamese and other fishermen competing for fish on the bay, following violent incidents including a shooting off Marin County. The conference, organized by Assemblyman Art Agnos, addressed language barriers and complaints of unequal treatment by law enforcement.
• Study Examines Black-Asian Tensions, page 1. The Philadelphia Human Relations Commission concluded a study documenting 38 confrontations between Asians and Blacks in Philadelphia between January 1984 and July 1985. The report cites bitterness over the Vietnam War and lack of government education about cultural differences as factors, recommending education and anti-crime programs.
• Release of Refugee Funds Ordered, page 1. A federal judge denied the government’s appeal and ordered the Office of Management and Budget to release $75 million in refugee assistance funds, including $4.7 million for California. Rep. Robert Matsui criticized the administration’s appeal as a delaying tactic to avoid its legal obligations.
• AA Leadership Conference to be Held, page 9. The National Asian American Leadership Conference, sponsored by the Asian American Voters Coalition, will be held Nov. 7-9 in Washington D.C. with sessions on voter registration, political party participation, running for office, and a banquet honoring congressional members.

Incarceration & Redress

• Redress Groups Urge Cooperation, by J.K. Yamamoto, page 1. Representatives of NCRR, NCJAR and JACL gave progress reports on redress efforts at a joint program in Los Angeles, with NCRR’s Bert Nakano stressing a united community and raising concerns about provisions in redress bills before Congress. NCJAR’s Joyce Okinaka discussed the status of the class action lawsuit, while attorney Peter Irons commented on the appeal before judges Skelly Wright and Ruth Ginsburg.
• Redress Pledges Report, page 8. JACL Headquarters reported redress pledge totals for September 1985, bringing the year’s total to over $213,000, with contributions broken down by district including significant amounts from Placer County and Gresham-Troutdale chapters. The Pacific Northwest district led in total 1985 contributions.

Community

• Publisher Allowed to Leave Taiwan, page 2. Lee Ya-ping, arrested by Taiwan authorities for publishing Communist Chinese propaganda in her Monterey Park newspaper, received permission to leave Taiwan. Her arrest had been criticized by the U.S. State Department and Congress as an infringement of free speech.
• Issei ‘Grape King’ to be Remembered, page 2. A Japanese Culture Day at Sonoma County Museum will honor Kanaye Nagasawa, the ‘Grape King’ of California who founded Fountaingrove Round Barn and Winery, featuring a bronze bust presented by Friends of Santa Rosa in Kagoshima. The event, inspired by a 1983 speech by President Reagan, will include Japanese arts demonstrations, dance, origami, martial arts and tea ceremonies.
• Chapter Pulse: San Mateo, Greater L.A. Singles, Marina, Portland, Wasatch Front North, Milwaukee, West Valley, Stockton, page 6. A roundup of chapter news including San Mateo’s Monte Carlo Night, Greater L.A. Singles’ scholarship benefit dance, Marina chapter’s Asian Leadership Conference at UCLA with keynote speaker Mike Woo, and Portland’s fundraising calendar featuring Asian artists. Also included are golf tournament results from Wasatch Front North and Stockton chapters and meeting announcements from Milwaukee and West Valley chapters.
• Fundraiser for Secretary of State Eu Planned, page 9. A fundraiser honoring California Secretary of State March Fong Eu is scheduled for Nov. 3 in Fresno. Eu, first elected in 1974, oversees state elections and has promoted California’s agricultural and industrial exports as chair of the state World Trade Commission.
• Miyata Memorial Fund Established, page 9. Harvard University has established the Kenneth Ichiro Miyata Memorial Fund to support herpetology field research, honoring the nature photographer and herpetologist who died in a 1983 Montana fishing accident. An archive of his memorabilia is being developed for Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Obituaries

• Asian American Literary Scholar Dies, page 2. Dorothy Yoshimori, an associate professor at Michigan State University and advocate for Asian Pacific American awareness, died Oct. 6 at age 54 from cardiac arrests. She was a founding member of the Asian Pacific American Women’s Assn. and a scholar of 19th century American literature who also studied Asian American writers like John Okada and Hisaye Yamamoto.
• Thomas T. Utsunomiya, Former Minneapolis Civil Service Director, Dies, page 10. Thomas T. Utsunomiya, 67, a former director of the Minneapolis Civil Service Commission and original cadre member of the 442nd RCT at Camp Shelby, died Oct. 5 in Minneapolis. He is survived by his wife Kay, five children, and other family members.

JACL

• Coordinator Hired for JA National Museum, page 2. Nancy Araki, former executive director of Visual Communications, has been hired as project coordinator for the Japanese American National Museum. Board president Bruce Kaji said she will oversee the museum’s development toward its eventual home in the old Nishi Honganji building.
• An Open Letter to National Program Chairs, page 5. The National Board made budget cuts affecting personnel, regional offices and the endowment fund to help fund the $150,000 LEC request to set up its political lobbying machinery. The letter outlines alternatives including altering income projections, using 501(h) status without separate staffing, or delaying LEC setup procedures, and previews austere budgets ahead of the 1986 Chicago convention.
• Touchdown for Redress, page 5. The article traces JACL’s redress efforts since the 1978 National Council decision, noting the May 1985 transfer of lobbying activities to the Legislative Education Committee (LEC) under Harry Kajihara’s fundraising drive. Despite disappointing fundraising results, the piece stresses the need to sustain momentum to pass redress bills through the 99th Congress.
• PSW District Council to Hold Elections in Las Vegas, page 6. JACL’s Pacific Southwest District Council will hold elections for 1985-87 officers at its quarterly meeting in Las Vegas on Nov. 16, with Ken Inouye running for governor and other candidates vying for board positions. The agenda includes committee reports on redress, trust fund, women’s concerns, ethnic concerns, and a report on a Washington D.C. leadership trip.
• MDC Meeting Addresses Finances and Declining Membership, page 6. The Midwest District Council meeting focused on financial concerns, declining membership, and the need to formalize bookkeeping and incorporation status. Chapters discussed recruiting new members and a proposed forensic competition for JAYs to encourage youth participation.
• LEC Campaign Faces Funding Shortfall, page 8. The newly appointed LEC Legislative Executive Director discusses the funding shortfall for the redress lobbying campaign and the dangers of ‘groupthink’ preventing JACL from addressing internal issues. The piece recalls JACL’s historic 1952 legislative victory on the Walter-McCarran Act as proof that dedicated lobbying efforts can succeed despite limited resources.

Arts & Entertainment

• New ‘Silk Screen’ Series to Air on PBS, page 3. PBS will air three new episodes of the Asian American series ‘Silk Screen’ featuring profiles and dramas including Renee Cho’s documentary on jazz musician Toshiko Akiyoshi, Stephen Ning’s ‘Freckled Rice,’ Emiko Omori’s ‘The Departure,’ and Kidlat Tahimik’s ‘Turumba.’ The series is produced by the National Asian American Telecommunications Assn. with funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
• Akune: The JA in ‘E/R’, by J.K. Yamamoto, page 12. Actress Shuko Akune discusses her role as Maria Amarda in the CBS show ‘E/R’ and the long-running Chicago play of the same name, as well as her founding of Mina Sama-No Theatre Co., Chicago’s only Asian American theater group. She reflects on playing a Pilipina character responsibly and her hopes for more diverse, non-stereotyped roles for Asian American actors on television.

Commentary

• By Any Other Name, by Bill Marutani, page 4. Marutani reflects on choosing a title for a photograph of the Tule Lake camp where he was incarcerated, arguing against euphemisms like ‘Relocation Center’ and citing numerous government officials and judges who called the camps ‘concentration camps,’ including FDR, Justice Owen Roberts, Judge William Denman, and Justice Tom Clark. He concludes that history and honesty require calling the camps what they were.
• You Can’t Win, by Bob Shimabukuro, page 4. Shimabukuro writes humorously about handling angry phone calls from readers complaining about the Pacific Citizen, and about mixed reactions to his reduced column-writing due to the paper’s shrinking to 8 pages. He describes abandoned column ideas, including one poking fun at different personality types at JACL board meetings, after a board member warned him it could cause trouble.
• Salinas Symposium, by Sean Kientz, page 4. A letter praising a symposium on Japanese American internment at Hartnell College featuring Minoru Yasui and a screening of ‘Unfinished Business.’ The writer highlights comments from Salinas Mayor James Barnes, who admitted being wrong to support internment, and urges other JACL chapters near colleges to hold similar events.
• Getting On In Years, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa reflects on societal obsession with aging and notes JACL’s growing interest in issues affecting elderly Japanese Americans as the Nisei generation ages together. He discusses Japan’s world-leading life expectancy rates and a Japanese government committee studying the aging population, suggesting the findings could benefit the U.S.
• Half-Truths and Fictions, by E.J. Suyama, page 5. A letter responding to a previous op-ed criticizing Jesse Jackson, arguing that Jackson may be speaking uncomfortable truths and drawing parallels between Black and Japanese American historical oppression. The writer, quoting Edward R. Murrow, reminds readers that everyone is a prisoner of their own experience and prejudices.
• Ready to Help Out, by Sharon Tanihara, page 5. A Sansei reader writes about her growing understanding of the injustice her parents faced in camp after reading PC coverage and watching ‘Unfinished Business,’ and asks where to send redress contributions. The editor’s response clarifies that LEC and JACL Redress donations should be sent to local chapters or district offices, specifying the fund.

In-Depth

• Nothing More to Dream, by David Mas Masumoto, page 7. Masumoto, a Fresno-area peach and grape farmer, reflects on the collapse of fruit markets in 1985 and the broader crisis facing small family farmers, comparing their plight to Dust Bowl farmers. He describes the erosion of the belief that hard work guarantees reward, and fears for the spiritual and economic future of family farming in California’s Central Valley.
• Aliens in Their Own Country, by Harry Honda, page 10. A book review of Donald E. Collins’ ‘Native American Aliens,’ the first book focused on the 5,500 Japanese Americans who renounced U.S. citizenship during WWII due to factors including a poorly-worded loyalty questionnaire and coercion in camps. The book details the legal history of the renunciants and notes that 90% had their citizenship restored by 1959.

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