Redress after Sala Burton’s death, and George Nakashima’s Altar of Peace

Vol. 104, No. 5, February 6, 1987. 12 pages. View this issue

The Pacific Citizen’s February 6, 1987 issue followed the redress bill closely. Rep. Sala Burton, a co-sponsor of H.R. 442, died on Feb. 1 at age 61, and Rep. Barney Frank was named chair of the House subcommittee with jurisdiction over the bill. Grayce Uyehara’s column reported Sen. Spark Matsunaga’s count of 33 Senate co-sponsors, and Harry Kajihara gave a progress report on the Legislative Education Committee fund drive. The front page also carried the dedication of George Nakashima’s walnut Altar of Peace at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York.

Elsewhere in the 12 pages: Little Tokyo’s objections to a new homeless shelter, tributes to astronaut Ellison Onizuka in Florida and Hawaii, and an INS official’s explanation of the new immigration rules. Ron Chew wrote about the Asian American community press, and the letters page included readers seeking WW2-era camp mail and old friends from Rohwer and Santa Anita.

What’s in this issue

Arts & Entertainment

• ‘Altar of Peace’ a Labor of Love for JA Woodworker, page 1. Master woodworker George Nakashima’s three-quarter-ton walnut ‘Altar of Peace’ was dedicated at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York on New Year’s Eve, three years after a logger procured the massive tree from a Long Island estate. Nakashima, who was interned at Minidoka during WW2 and later became a renowned furniture maker, is now considering Nagasaki as the site for a second altar.

National

• Redress Co-Sponsor Sala Burton Dies at 61, page 1. Rep. Sala Burton (D-Calif.), a co-sponsor of House redress bill H.R. 442, died of colon cancer on Feb. 1 at age 61 after representing San Francisco’s 5th District since 1983. Colleagues including Reps. Matsui and Mineta and JACL praised her as a caring and consistent supporter of minority issues and redress legislation.
• Chair of Key House Subcommittee Named, page 1. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was named new chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Law and Governmental Relations, which has jurisdiction over the Japanese American redress bill. Frank, a co-sponsor of H.R. 442, replaces Rep. Dan Glickman, who will head a different subcommittee.
• Philadelphia’s Blacks, Asians Start Dialogue, page 2. Controversy erupted in Philadelphia after radio host Georgie Woods made inflammatory remarks accusing Asian, particularly Korean, merchants of mistreating Black customers, sparking community tension and eventual dialogue between Black and Asian leaders. Woods later issued a partial apology, and Asian community leaders described the episode as both a crisis and an opportunity to address underlying bias between the two communities.
• Mineta Tells N.Y. Times to Correct Error, page 9. Rep. Norman Mineta demanded that the New York Times correct a chart on the racial composition of the 100th Congress that omitted Asian Pacific Americans entirely. Mineta pointed out that with Senators Inouye and Matsunaga and several House members, Asian Pacific Americans are represented in Congress and should not be erased from such statistics.
• UC Berkeley Denies Charges of Limiting Asian Enrollment, page 10. UC Berkeley released a report refuting allegations that its admissions policies discriminate against Asian Americans, stating that Asian enrollment is at an all-time high and denying the use of quotas. Critics including Henry Der of Chinese for Affirmative Action disputed the findings, noting that Chinese enrollment dropped significantly after 1984 admissions policy changes.
• INS Official Explains Details of New Immigration Rules, by J.K. Yamamoto, page 10. INS District Director Ernest Gustafson met with ethnic press in Los Angeles to explain employer sanctions and amnesty provisions of the new immigration law, including a one-year amnesty application period starting May 5 for those residing illegally since before Jan. 1, 1982. Gustafson addressed community concerns about discrimination and confidentiality, stating that no law enforcement presence will be at amnesty application sites.
• Victims of Fire in Chinatown Get Settlement, page 10. Fourteen Chinese families reached a $210,000 out-of-court settlement with their former landlord for relocation costs after a 1985 fire destroyed their Manhattan tenement building, killing two and leaving 115 homeless. The tragedy spurred Asian Americans for Equality to secure a $1 million contract to build a homeless shelter, Equality House, tailored to Asian American families’ needs.

Community

• Little Tokyo Opposes New Homeless Shelter, by J.K. Yamamoto, page 1. The Los Angeles City Council voted to open a vacant print shop on 1st Street as a temporary 90-day homeless shelter near Little Tokyo, prompting strong objections from community members who feared it would extend Skid Row into the area. Despite community protests and a City Council meeting that was abruptly adjourned without public comment, the shelter opened and has so far operated without major incident, according to organizer Ted Hayes.
• ‘What Youth Can Learn’: Hawaii Student Wins Onizuka Essay Contest, page 3. Brian Chen, a junior at Kauai High and Intermediate School, won the grand prize in an essay contest about astronaut Ellison Onizuka sponsored by the Hawaii Department of Education and United Airlines. Chen and his teacher won a trip to NASA facilities in Houston, and his winning essay about Onizuka’s legacy of faith, hope and perseverance is printed in full.
• Florin Nikkei Hold Dinner for Tsukamoto, page 6. More than 250 people attended a special recognition dinner in Sacramento honoring Mary Tsukamoto, JACLer of the Biennium, hosted by the Florin JACL Chapter and the local Japanese American community. She received a community plaque, roses, and a Congressional Record citation, with speeches from local officials and chapter leaders.
• Nakadegawa Named Transit District Board President, page 6. Roy Nakadegawa, reelected to the Alameda-Contra Costa County Transit District’s board of directors, was named 1987 board president, a position he has now held twice during his 14-year tenure. Nakadegawa is an engineer for the city of Richmond and represents an at-large district covering much of the two counties.
• Friends of Redress Offering $8,000 Prize at Fund-Raiser, page 6. A Friends of Redress fund-raising dinner in Norwalk, Calif. on Feb. 28 will award an $8,000 grand prize along with other cash prizes, with only 200 tickets sold at $100 each. The event will be held at the Southeast Japanese Community Center, with dinner-only tickets also available for guests.
• Yanagita, Watanabe to Head West Valley JACL Chapter, by Bill Oda, page 6. More than 120 members and guests attended the West Valley JACL Chapter’s installation dinner in San Jose, where May Yanagita and Dr. Ronald Watanabe were sworn in as co-presidents by Superior Court Judge Taketsugu Takei. Dr. William Takahashi spoke on retirement, and new officers for several other positions were also installed.
• Asian Wins King Essay Contest, page 7. Kevin Hui, an 18-year-old senior at John Marshall High School, won first place and a $1,000 scholarship in the second annual Martin Luther King Jr. Essay/Art Contest sponsored by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Hui, who arrived from Hong Kong in 1984, submitted a pencil drawing on the theme
• Head of Utah Demos Seeks Second Term, page 8. Randy Horiuchi, Utah’s Democratic Party chairman since 1985 and former Salt Lake JACL president, announced he will seek re-election with vice chair Elizabeth Willey at the June state party convention. Under his leadership, Democrats gained seats in the Legislature, won back a congressional seat, and broke Republican control of the Salt Lake County Commission.
• Nikkei Newsmakers, page 9. Brief items note Tom Yokoyama’s installation as president of the Rancho Los Cerritos Board of Realtors, Joy Yamasaki joining Chicago Mayor Harold Washington’s staff, and Mas Fukai’s appointment as the first Asian American chief deputy to L.A. County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn. Each individual’s professional background and new role are briefly described.
• Asian Named to N.Y. Human Rights Division, page 9. Tyylai ‘Bill’ Chong, a board member of Asian Americans for Equality, was appointed special assistant to the New York State Division of Human Rights, focusing on fair housing issues. Chong previously served as executive director of the Chinatown Tenant Organizing Project and played an active role in affordable housing litigation and homeless shelter development in Chinatown.
• Bar Assn. Officers, page 11. The Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area announced the election of John Sugiyama as president-elect along with other new officers and directors for 1987. The new slate was installed on Jan. 23 at Miriwa Restaurant in San Francisco.

Military & Veterans

• Asian Americans in Florida Honor Onizuka, page 3. A 7-foot Japanese stone lantern was dedicated in Morikami Park in Delray Beach, Florida, in memory of astronaut Ellison Onizuka, the first Asian American to travel in space, who died in the Challenger disaster. Fellow astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz and representatives of multiple faiths spoke at the ceremony, which was organized by the Asian American Federation of Florida and the South Florida Japan America Society.
• Judge Urges Vets to Keep Fighting Racism, by Harry Honda, page 7. Superior Court Judge Kathryn Doi Todd addressed the 27th annual 100th/442nd Veterans Association dinner-dance in Los Angeles, praising the wartime heroism of Japanese American soldiers while warning that anti-Asian racism persists today. Outgoing president George Nishinaka was succeeded by Sam Fujikawa, and special commendations were given to Torrance officials for their roles in a veterans parade.

Commentary

• The Community Press: A Worthwhile Cause, by Ron Chew, page 4. International Examiner editor Ron Chew reflects on the undervalued but vital role of the Asian American community press, honoring dedicated figures like Eira Nagaoka of the Seattle JACL Reporter and Emiliano Francisco of the Filipino American Herald. He calls for more Asian American journalists to sustain and renew this tradition of community journalism.
• Letters to the Editor: Prejudice in Japan, by Ernest M. Matsunaga, page 11. A letter writer argues that Japan will not achieve true leadership in human rights until it reforms its ethnocentric citizenship and naturalization policies. The writer contends that racial discrimination is immoral and unscientific, and urges Japan to match its economic standing with humanitarian leadership.
• Letters to the Editor: In Search Of…, by David Salovey, page 11. A reader thanks the Pacific Citizen for printing his earlier letter seeking WW2-era internment camp mail and memorabilia, reporting good responses and ongoing efforts to collect historical documents from various camps and military units. He requests continued help locating original materials for a planned exhibition and handbook before wartime survivors and their possessions are lost.
• Letters to the Editor: Locating Old Friends, by Naomi Kashiwabara, page 11. A reader suggests the Pacific Citizen create a paid personals-style box for readers trying to locate WW2-era friends from internment camps, offering to pay $5 per inquiry with proceeds going to the Typesetter Fund. She includes her own inquiries seeking the whereabouts of two men from Santa Anita Assembly Center and Rohwer Relocation Camp.

JACL

• The LEC Fund Drive: A Progress Report, by Harry Kajihara, page 4. LEC Fund Drive chair Harry Kajihara reports that the redress fund drive, launched in June 1985, has raised more than $300,000 at its midpoint as of Dec. 31, 1986. He lists top prime solicitors and participating chapters across the country and urges continued support for the campaign’s remaining year and a half.

Incarceration & Redress

• Under the Weather, But Progressing, by Grayce Uyehara, page 5. LEC update columnist Grayce Uyehara describes how heavy snowfall disrupted Washington D.C. business during a critical period for redress legislation, while Rep. Barney Frank’s subcommittee leadership offers hope for H.R. 442’s progress. Sen. Spark Matsunaga reported 33 Senate co-sponsors for the redress bill and urged a nationwide letter-writing campaign tied to the Constitution’s bicentennial, while the column also pays tribute to the late Sala Burton’s early and consistent support for redress.

Obituaries

• Sac’to Pediatrician Posthumously Honored, page 7. Family, friends and colleagues gathered at Mercy Hospital of Sacramento to honor the late Dr. Yukio Uyeno with a memorial tribute, including the placement of bilingual plaques in the pediatric unit he served. A memorial fund established in his name will help provide monitoring equipment for the pediatric unit he devoted his career to after serving in the Air Force.
• Carol Santoki Dodd, 49, page 9. Carol Santoki Dodd, a civic leader, author and director of information for Hawaii’s judiciary, died of cancer on Dec. 30 in Honolulu. She authored a book on the Hawaii Supreme Court and served in leadership roles with several legal and community organizations, and is survived by her husband, children, parents and siblings.
• Dave Shigematsu, 46, page 9. Dave Shigematsu, longtime basketball coach at Castlemont and Skyline High Schools in Oakland, died of an apparent heart attack on Jan. 12. He led Castlemont to seven league championships and three Tournament of Champions titles, and was named 1979 coach of the year by the California Coaches Association.

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