Sacramento firebombings and the Pacific Citizen controversy

Vol. 117, No. 14, October 22, 1993. 8 pages. View this issue

A string of firebombings in Sacramento drew the issue’s front page. The Fair Employment and Housing Department office was hit, the fifth attack against minority targets since July, and a group calling itself the Aryan Liberation Front claimed responsibility. P.C. Staff reported on JACL’s talks with Associate Attorney General Webb Hubbell, a timeline of the attacks, and JACL’s support for the Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement Act. Harry K. Honda covered a Nisei angle to the Reginald Denny trial in Los Angeles.

On the commentary pages, Karl K. Nobuyuki, Richard T. Schultz and William Hohri wrote about the National Board’s dismissal of Paul Shinkawa, while Carole Hayashino and Neal Taniguchi defended it. Bill Hosokawa wrote about Nisei as bridge builders between the U.S. and Japan, and Lillian C. Kimura recapped her travels. Stanford’s honoring of its interned alumni, and a Maui manju shop’s 50th anniversary, are also inside.

What’s in this issue

National

• Sixth Attack in Sacramento: Agency Hit With Firebomb, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The California Fair Employment and Housing Department office in Sacramento was firebombed, the fifth attack against minority targets since July, though damage was minor. A group calling itself the Aryan Liberation Front claimed responsibility for this and earlier attacks, while Gov. Pete Wilson vowed the office would quickly reopen and that hate would not be tolerated.
• Impacting Wards Cove Act, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on cases concerning whether the Civil Rights Act of 1991 applies retroactively to pending cases, which could affect the long-running Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio case. JACL and OCA representatives noted that even a retroactive ruling would not help Wards Cove workers due to a special exemption, unless Congress passes the Justice for Wards Cove Workers Act.
• Support for Hate Crime Sentencing, by P.C. Staff, page 1. JACL commended Sen. Dianne Feinstein and other senators for introducing the Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement Act, companion legislation to a House bill by Rep. Charles Schumer. JACL Acting National Director Carole Hayashino linked the bill to the recent Sacramento firebombings and urged Asian Americans to support the legislation.
• Navy Shuts Down Midway Island Base, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Navy shut down the Midway Island Naval Air Facility, though cleanup will continue for several years before the site transfers to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Midway is historically significant as the site of the decisive WWII naval battle against Japan in June 1942.
• Time Warner Funds Asian Studies, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Time Warner pledged $500,000 to establish the James A. Linen III Fund for Asian Studies at Williams College, honoring the late Time Inc. president and longtime college trustee. Williams College, which started Asian studies in 1986, is a founding member of the Doshisha University internship program in Kyoto.
• Groups Meet With Education Official on Issues, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Representatives from JACL, OCA, and other Asian Pacific American organizations met with Assistant Secretary Norma Cantu of the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to discuss English language instruction, campus hate incidents, and college admission quotas. JACL and OCA leaders expressed confidence that Cantu would defend the civil rights of all students regardless of background.

Community

• Nisei Angle to Reginald Denny Trial in Los Angeles, by Harry K. Honda, page 1. Verdicts in the Reginald Denny beating trial included charges related to Nisei victim Takao Hirata, who was attacked at the same corner during the 1992 L.A. riots. Defendant Damian Williams was found guilty of lesser misdemeanor assault and one felony charge but acquitted of more serious charges related to Hirata’s beating.
• JACL Discusses Attacks With Federal Law Official, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Associate Attorney General Webb Hubbell met with Sacramento community leaders, including JACL representatives, to discuss the FBI investigation into the firebombings attributed to the Aryan Liberation Front. JACL Acting National Director Carole Hayashino praised the swift federal response and thanked Sens. Feinstein and Boxer and Rep. Matsui for their support.
• A Firestorm: Chronology of Firebomb Attacks, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A timeline detailed five firebomb attacks in Sacramento since July, targeting a synagogue, the NAACP office, the JACL chapter office, a city councilman’s home, and a state fair employment office. A reward fund of approximately $50,000 and a JACL recovery fund were established to aid investigation and rebuilding efforts.
• Mother Sato’s Manju Recipe Well Guarded, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Sam Sato’s grocery store in Wailuku, Maui, celebrated its 50th anniversary with a new restaurant and manju shop, continuing a recipe created by Sam’s mother, Mite Sato, that remains a closely guarded secret. The business began at Spreckelsville Camp during WWII and relocated to Puunene before opening its new location.
• Oahu AJA Farm Harvests Watercress, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The 10-acre Sumida Farm in Pearlridge, Oahu, produces more than half of Hawaii’s watercress and has been run by the same family for 65 years on land leased from the Bishop Estate. Founder Morjichi Sumida’s descendants continue the operation, including overcoming a 1982 pest infestation with an innovative sprinkler system.

Commentary

• Around and About, by Lillian C. Kimura, page 3. National JACL President Lillian Kimura recaps her extensive travels over recent months, including the Tri-District Conference in Cleveland, the JACL Singles Convention in Chicago, National Board and Search Committee meetings in San Francisco, and Olympia Chapter’s 10th anniversary in Washington state. She thanks numerous JACL volunteers and leaders for their hospitality and hard work.
• Bridge Builders Across the Pacific, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa traces the evolution of Nisei serving as bridges between the U.S. and Japan, from early distrust during WWII to Nisei professionals like Mike Masaoka, Henry Gosho, and Glen Fukushima taking on significant diplomatic and business roles. He highlights Jonathan Kaji’s recent appointment as director of the California Foreign Trade Office in Tokyo as evidence the bridge is now firmly established.
• The September JACL Debacle, by Karl K. Nobuyuki, page 5. Nobuyuki criticizes the National Board’s censure of the Pacific Citizen and the forced resignation of PC board chair Paul Shinkawa, arguing this undermines JACL’s credibility as a civil rights organization. He warns that members are considering withholding dues or seeking recalls in protest of the board’s actions.
• At Issue for JACL Is Freedom of Speech, by Richard T. Schultz, page 5. A letter writer compares the dismissal of Paul Shinkawa to a similar controversy at the Texas NAACP, framing both as tensions between American ideals of free speech and cultural pressures for conformity within organizations. Schultz argues JACL must grapple with this constitutional issue just as it fought unconstitutional treatment of Japanese Americans during WWII.
• First Amendment Is Key to Democracy, by William Hohri, page 5. Hohri compares JACL’s dismissal of Shinkawa to the Texas NAACP’s dismissal of an attorney who represented a KKK leader, arguing both cases involve First Amendment issues essential to democratic self-rule. He urges JACL not to force PC staff to choose between censorship and resignation, warning that doing so would strangle democracy within the organization.
• PC Must Choose Its Contexts Better, by Carole Hayashino, page 6. In her final column as JACL Acting National Director, Hayashino reflects on the Rising Sun controversy, the PC debate, and the Sacramento firebombing, using San Francisco Chronicle columnist Jon Carroll’s mea culpa as a lens to argue the PC needs to better choose its contexts. She defends National staff and board actions, listing organizational accomplishments and urging more professional, less dramatic debate over PC’s role.
• A Different Perspective of the PC Controversy, by Neal Taniguchi, page 6. National JACL Vice President Neal Taniguchi defends the National Board’s dismissal of Paul Shinkawa, arguing the PC Board overstepped its authority by seeking a separate personnel manual and by publishing the Rising Sun and Jap Road articles in ways that undermined national staff efforts. He contends the PC cannot have complete editorial independence while remaining part of the JACL corporation.
• Response to Taniguchi, Hayashino, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Pacific Citizen editorial board publishes former PC Board Chair Paul Shinkawa’s detailed rebuttal to Taniguchi’s claims about the personnel manual dispute and the Jap Road and Rising Sun coverage, along with additional PC responses disputing Taniguchi’s and Hayashino’s characterizations. The piece argues that PC’s obligations lie with the JACL membership rather than headquarters staff, and defends the newspaper’s editorial independence.
• An Open Letter to the JACL President, by San Fernando Valley Chapter President, page 7. The San Fernando Valley Chapter president writes to National President Lillian Kimura questioning her judgment, though not her authority, in forcing Paul Shinkawa’s resignation as PC Board chair. The letter argues that censorship violates JACL’s civil rights principles and calls for chapters to be consulted on such decisions in the future.

Incarceration & Redress

• Stanford Honors Interned Alumni, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Stanford University President Gerhard Casper acknowledged the wrongs done to 24 Japanese American students sent to WWII internment camps in 1942, saying institutions failed the Constitution. The reunion ceremony drew an overflow crowd with remarks from Rev. Diana Akiyama, Ray Lyman Wilbur III, and Prof. Sylvia Yanagisako.

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