Redress passes the House, and a court overturns Hirabayashi’s convictions

Vol. 105, No. 10, October 2, 1987. 8 pages. View this issue

The October 2, 1987 issue followed redress and the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans (often called internment). The front page reported that the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Gordon Hirabayashi’s wartime convictions. Inside, Grayce Uyehara recounted the JACL and JACL-LEC lobbying effort behind the Sept. 17 House vote passing H.R. 442 by 243-141, in two columns on pages 5 and 6. Jerry Enomoto answered Rep. Norman Shumway’s opinion piece, and other letter writers and Uyehara responded to critics of redress.

The front page also covered the first Asian American Journalists Association convention in Los Angeles, where K.W. Lee and Tritia Toyota received excellence awards. Bill Hosokawa wrote on Hearst Castle and the Hearst papers’ history of anti-Japanese coverage. Smaller items include a JACL leadership seminar in Carson, the LEAP symposium, and a Sansei selected for a city management internship in Phoenix.

What’s in this issue

National

• AAJA Convention Honors K.W. Lee and Tritia Toyota, by George Johnston, page 1. The first Asian American Journalists Association convention awarded excellence honors to K.W. Lee of the Sacramento Union and Tritia Toyota of KCBS-TV during a Sept. 24 luncheon in Los Angeles. The four-day event drew over 500 journalists with sessions on investigative reporting, ethnic media, and violence against Asian Americans, featuring speakers including Reps. Norman Mineta and Robert Matsui.
• Korean Man Assaulted by New York Police Officers, page 1. Yong Kook Ou, a 20-year-old Korean citizen, was allegedly beaten by two NYPD officers after being stopped for riding his bicycle against traffic in midtown Manhattan. Numerous witnesses described excessive force, and the Coalition Against Anti-Asian Violence demanded charges against Ou be dropped and the officers be investigated and prosecuted.
• Lungren as State Treasurer Opposed, page 2. Members of the Japanese American community, including JACL National Director Ron Wakabayashi, opposed Governor Deukmejian’s consideration of Rep. Daniel Lungren for California State Treasurer due to Lungren’s amendment seeking to eliminate compensation from redress bill H.R. 442. Wakabayashi wrote the governor urging him to find a treasurer

Community

• MS Fund-raiser Honors Mayeda, by George Johnston, page 1. Mikko Mayeda, a champion equestrian who has been blind and living with Multiple Sclerosis for 11 years, was honored at the Multiple Sclerosis Society’s 14th Annual Dinner of Champions in Beverly Hills. Despite her disease, she has won numerous national and international equestrian competitions and spoke about perseverance despite hardship.
• LEAP Symposium to Be Held, page 2. Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics (LEAP) will hold its second annual symposium, ‘Partners in Progress: The Private Sector and the Asian Pacific Community,’ on Oct. 8 at the Los Angeles Hilton. The event will feature workshops, panels, and two new leadership awards recognizing outstanding Asian American and corporate leaders.
• A/P Workers Topic of NCCJ Seminar, page 3. The National Conference of Christians and Jews will host an Asian/Pacific employment development seminar for Southern California retail corporations on Oct. 13, featuring presentations by Dr. William Ouchi and Security Pacific Bank on recruiting and retaining Asian Pacific employees. A directory of recruitment resources will also be distributed through the NCCJ’s Asian/Pacific Employment and Economic Development Task Force.
• Sansei to Intern With Arizona City, page 6. Lisa Takata of Visalia, California was selected for a one-year management internship with the City of Phoenix. She will rotate through roles in the city manager’s office, city council offices, and the management and budget department.
• Yamada Receives Hiram Award, page 6. Akira Yamada, a member of Magnolia Lodge No. 242 and the Santa Barbara JACL chapter, received the lodge’s highest honor, the Hiram Award. He was recognized for his untiring service to the lodge and the community.

Incarceration & Redress

• Court Overturns Wartime Convictions, page 1. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Gordon Hirabayashi’s wartime curfew and internment-related convictions, citing suppressed government documents proving the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans was based on racial prejudice rather than military necessity. The ruling, the first federal appellate case repudiating military curfew orders, sends the case back to District Court to clear Hirabayashi’s record.
• The Mountainous Ordeal of Passing Redress, by Grayce Uyehara, page 5. Grayce Uyehara recounts the extensive lobbying effort by JACL and JACL-LEC leading up to the historic Sept. 17 House vote passing H.R. 442 by 243-141. She details the Washington office’s staff, fundraising efforts, and strategic grassroots campaign that built support among representatives for individual redress payments.
• Ordeal Continued: Redress Task Force Lobbying Details, by Grayce Uyehara, page 6. The column continues detailing the final lobbying blitz before the Sept. 17 H.R. 442 vote, describing coordination between JACL-LEC staff, district coordinators, and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Redress Task Force. It notes specific efforts to confirm congressional votes and highlights that more legislative battles remain ahead for redress.

JACL

• Leadership Skills Focus of Seminar, by B.J. Watanabe, page 2. An advanced leadership seminar co-sponsored by the Pacific Southwest District JACL and LEAP was held in Carson, California, focusing on improving leadership skills and strengthening Sansei involvement in JACL. Participants attended workshops on board effectiveness, communication skills, corporate strategies, and meeting dynamics, including a team-building exercise using tinker toys.

Commentary

• Nikkei Letters Say Shumway Opinion Avoids the Reason Behind Redress, page 3. Several letter writers responded to Rep. Norman Shumway’s Los Angeles Times opinion piece opposing redress legislation, arguing that the WWII internment of Japanese Americans was a unique constitutional violation distinct from other historical injustices. Writers including Kiyoka Kurumada, Phil Shigekuni, and Mo Nishida challenged Shumway’s reasoning as a rationalization against redress rooted in denial of government wrongdoing.
• Reese Article Calls Redress Issue a Second Attack on Pearl Harbor, by Charley Reese, page 4. Orlando Sentinel columnist Charley Reese argued that redress payments to Japanese Americans interned during WWII amount to an unwarranted second compensation and a distortion of history, claiming the internment was justified by wartime security concerns. He asserted that internees were not treated worse than other Americans during the war and that loyalty could not be verified for all internees.
• Uyehara Cites ‘Insufficient Knowledge’ of Sentinel Piece, by Grayce Uyehara, page 4. JACL-LEC Executive Director Grayce Uyehara rebutted Charley Reese’s Orlando Sentinel article, citing the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians’ findings that internment was driven by racism rather than military necessity. She noted that two-thirds of internees were U.S. citizens and highlighted the heroism of Nisei soldiers, calling Reese’s comments arrogant and insensitive.
• MIS and Rose Innes, page 5. A personal reflective column describes rediscovering a government-issued Rose-Innes Japanese dictionary and kanji flashcards from military intelligence service training decades earlier. The writer compares outdated kanji characters to modern usage and reflects on the challenge of retaining language learning over time.
• Letter Offers a ‘Reasoned Response’, by Jerry Enomoto, page 5. Jerry Enomoto wrote a rebuttal to Rep. Norman Shumway’s Los Angeles Times opinion piece opposing redress, arguing that the $20,000 compensation is symbolic rather than a true accounting for losses suffered. He criticized Shumway’s claims that redress would be divisive, noting that civil rights violations deserve emotional and rational response alike.
• ‘Xanadu’ Xenophobe’s Xanthous-Peril Playhouse, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa reflects on visiting Hearst Castle and reconsiders the opulence in light of William Randolph Hearst’s newspapers’ history of anti-Japanese racism and yellow journalism before and during WWII. He notes that Hearst’s publications once fueled hysteria against Japanese Americans, contrasting that legacy with the castle’s grandeur.

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