Lobbying for redress: students, delegates and the push for H.R. 442

Vol. 105, No. 5, August 21, 1987. 8 pages. View this issue

Redress dominated the news in this eight-page issue. More than fifteen students were among the 120 delegates who lobbied Congress for H.R. 442 and S. 1009 from July 25-29, as reported by P.C. Staff. Grayce Uyehara’s LEC Update urged visitors to the Smithsonian’s “A More Perfect Union” exhibit to lobby legislators, and Shig Wakamatsu’s JACL/LEC treasurer’s report called for more fundraising. Other pieces covered Peggy Nagae Lum, lead counsel in Yasui v. United States, joining a Seattle law firm, and a Tri-District Convention resolution opposing Robert Bork’s nomination, reported by George Johnston.

Also inside: Frank Abe on “Miss Minidoka 1943,” a musical about the camp years, and Bill Hosokawa’s review of Jessica Saiki’s “Once, a Lotus Garden.” Laurie Mochidome wrote about Judy Imai’s walk for peace, and Harry Kajihara’s column looked at the shift from Nisei to Sansei leadership in JACL. An editorial on the paper’s history and a Women’s Resource Directory announcement round out the issue.

What’s in this issue

National

• Students Among NCRR Delegation, by P.C. Staff, page 1. More than fifteen students joined a 120-member delegation that lobbied Congress for passage of redress bills H.R. 442 and S. 1009 from July 25-29. Students from campuses across Southern California, Northern California and the East Coast participated in educationals and met with ninety congresspeople.
• Eu’s Assailant Convicted, page 1. A Los Angeles Superior Court jury convicted Gregory Lee Moore of attacking and robbing California Secretary of State March Fong Eu in her home, along with five other residential break-ins. Moore could serve up to 24 years in prison, and his public defender said he plans to appeal.
• Mineta Joins Suit Aimed at Reagan, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Rep. Norman Y. Mineta joined more than 100 other members of Congress in filing a lawsuit seeking to force President Reagan to comply with the War Powers Act regarding U.S. military forces in the Persian Gulf. The suit argues that if hostilities aren’t imminent, the reflagging of Kuwaiti tankers is illegal since it required special wartime waivers.

JACL

• Tri-Dist. Opposes Bork Nomination, by George Johnston, page 1. At the Tri-District Convention in Denver, delegates from the Eastern, Midwest and Mountain Plains Districts unanimously passed a resolution opposing Robert Bork’s nomination to the Supreme Court. JACL National Director Ron Wakabayashi said the national JACL was still formulating its own statement on the nomination.
• Nat’l Director Is Advocate of Year, by Carole Hayashino, page 1. Over two hundred friends and associates gathered in Sacramento to honor JACL National Director Ron Wakabayashi as the 1987 Advocate of the Year, awarded by the Asian Democratic Legislative Staff Caucus. Speakers including Sen. Ralph Dills and Assemblymen Patrick Johnston and Dick Floyd praised his contributions to Asian American civil rights and legislative efforts.
• JACL-LEC Positions Up for Election, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The JACL-LEC announced an election for two at-large Board of Directors positions will be held in December, as the terms of incumbents Arthur Morimitsu and Gene Takamine expire, along with the JACL representative position held by Cherry Kinoshita. Nomination filing forms are available from the LEC Nominating Committee and must be returned by Sept. 25.
• Sansei Will Carry On, by Harry Kajihara, page 4. National JACL President Harry Kajihara reflects on the successful Tri-District Convention in Denver, dedicated to the late Min Yasui, and highlights discussions on generational transitions within JACL from Nisei to Sansei and Yonsei leadership. He praises new district governors installed at the convention and expresses optimism about Sansei commitment to carrying JACL forward.
• JACL/LEC Treasurer’s Report, by Shig Wakamatsu, page 4. This detailed financial report covers the second fiscal year of JACL/LEC activities, including the LEC Fund Drive income, expenditures on offices, personnel, lobbying, and special events. The report highlights a breakthrough in Senate support led by Senator Spark Matsunaga and calls for continued fundraising to support the House redress campaign.

Incarceration & Redress

• Commemoration Celebrates Imai’s Walk for Peace, by Laurie Mochidome, page 1. Judy Imai described her experiences in the American Soviet Walk for Peace at the annual Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration in Los Angeles, where she carried a lantern with the Hiroshima Peace Flame from Leningrad to Moscow. Councilman Mike Woo presented Imai with a City Council resolution honoring her commitment to world peace.
• Legislative Alert for Visitors of Smithsonian Exhibit, by Grayce Uyehara, page 5. With the Smithsonian’s “A More Perfect Union” exhibit opening Oct. 1 and expecting 5,000 Japanese American visitors, this LEC Update urges attendees to lobby legislators on Oct. 1-2 in support of redress bills S. 1009 and H.R. 442. The article provides instructions for writing to legislators and lists JACL-LEC district redress coordinators for assistance.
• Yasui Attorney Joins Law Firm, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Peggy Nagae Lum, lead counsel in Yasui v. United States, has joined the Seattle law firm of Betts, Patterson & Mines as an associate attorney after serving as Assistant Dean at the University of Oregon School of Law. The case, which challenges the government’s wartime curfew on Japanese Americans, is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court following Minoru Yasui’s death.

Community

• Nakano Is First Nikkei Awarded Democrat of Year, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Bert Nakano, national spokesperson for NCRR and southern chair of the Asian Pacific Caucus of the California State Democratic Party, became the first Asian American honored as Democrat of the Year at the Los Angeles County Democratic Party Awards. Nakano said he felt more Asians should be involved in the political process.
• 1990 Convention Theme for JACL Logo Competition, by P.C. Staff, page 6. A $100 prize will be awarded for the winning theme and logo design for the 1990 National JACL Convention in San Diego. Entries should incorporate inter-generational cooperation and San Diego themes with a 21st century outlook, with submissions due by Sept. 21.
• Omatsuri Fest Commemorates Act of 1952, by Jennifer Y. Yazawa, page 6. The New Mexico JACL’s Omatsuri ’87 festival in Albuquerque commemorated the 35th anniversary of the McCarran-Walter Act of 1952, which granted Japanese and other Asian immigrants the right to naturalized citizenship. Grand Marshal Robert Cullum, who lobbied for the Act’s passage, was honored, and the festival featured performances, crafts booths, and the swearing-in of 141 new citizens.
• Women’s Concerns Committee Publishes Resource Directory, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Northern California-Western Nevada-Pacific JACL’s Women’s Concerns Committee published the Japanese American Women’s Resource Directory after more than a year of work, featuring nonprofit agencies, health-care listings, and qualified Japanese American women for professional and volunteer roles. The directory will be available at “A Faire for Women” on Sept. 19 at Laney College.

Arts & Entertainment

• Internment Experience of Japanese Americans Is Basis for Musical, by Frank Abe, page 3. Seattle attorney Gary Iwamoto wrote the musical “Miss Minidoka 1943” as a way to help Nisei confront their camp experiences through humor rather than solemnity. The play, which packed houses in its Seattle premiere, imagines a barbed-wire beauty contest while honoring the serious history of the camps without naming the WRA or JACL directly.
• Saiki Book Sketches a Childhood in Rural Hawaii, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa reviews Jessica Saiki’s debut book “Once, a Lotus Garden,” a collection of short stories drawing on her childhood in a prewar rural Hawaiian village. He praises her vivid characters and sensitive prose, noting the stories’ universal resonance with Nisei who grew up in various mainland communities.

Commentary

• Our Destiny with ‘Identity’, page 4. This editorial traces the history of the Pacific Citizen from its 1942 revival as a weekly newspaper through its evolution into a publication balancing JACL organizational news with broader Japanese American community coverage. It reflects on the paper’s editorial independence and its role in maintaining Japanese American identity since Executive Order 9066.
• Meet PC’s George and Laurie, page 4. This column introduces two new Pacific Citizen staff members, George Toshio Johnston and Laurie Mochidome, detailing their backgrounds in journalism and writing. Johnston previously worked in Denver broadcast news and was active in the Mile Hi JACL, while Mochidome was an editorial assistant and graduate of California State University at Long Beach.
• Southeast Asian Students, page 5. This column, part of a series on Southeast Asian refugee experiences, discusses a SEAMAAC report studying 75 cases of Southeast Asian students who dropped out or struggled in Philadelphia schools. The author compares the refugee students’ challenges with his own childhood experiences as a Nisei with non-English-speaking parents, noting key differences in circumstances.
• Monetary Payment a Necessity, page 5. As National Chair of LEC, the author responds to claims from a supposed ‘silent majority’ of Japanese Americans who oppose monetary redress, arguing that internment caused real injury deserving compensation. The piece asserts that opposing redress on grounds of ‘pride’ reflects a phony definition of the word and internalized second-class citizenship.

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