Vol. 129, No. 2, July 9, 1999. 8 pages. View this issue
A white supremacist’s drive-by shooting spree in Indiana and Illinois led the news. Benjamin Nathaniel Smith, a member of the World Church of the Creator, killed himself during a police chase after attacks on Asians, Blacks and Jews. The Associated Press reported that a Korean American man was shot outside a church in Bloomington, Indiana. JACL National President Helen Kawagoe and Vice President Lori Fujimoto responded, and Fujimoto urged Congress to pass the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1999.
Caroline Aoyagi reported from the EDC/MDC Bi-District conference in New York, where the Midwest District supported a national resolution apologizing to WWII draft resisters and the Eastern District kept talking with its chapters. Sachi Seko wrote that the apology was overdue. Angela Oh joined a civil rights panel, and EEOC Vice Chair Paul Igasaki spoke. Columns by Bill Marutani and Bill Hosokawa, and a report on Tokyo’s Showa Hall museum, fill the final pages.
What’s in this issue
National
- White Supremacist Kills Self After Drive-By Shooting Spree Targeting Minorities, by Associated Press, page 1. Benjamin Nathaniel Smith, a member of the World Church of the Creator, shot and killed himself during a high-speed police chase after a weekend shooting spree targeting Asians, Blacks, and Jews in Indiana and Illinois. The rampage killed a former Northwestern basketball coach and a Korean American man outside a church, and wounded several others including Orthodox Jews and Asian American students.
- College Student Targeting Latinos Nationally in Hate E-mail Case Gets Jail Time, by Associated Press, page 1. A California State Polytechnic University student who pleaded guilty to civil rights charges for sending racist hate e-mails to dozens of Latinos nationwide was sentenced to two years in prison. It was only the second successful prosecution in the nation involving racially charged e-mail threats.
- Asian American Journalists Association Announces National Scholarship Winners, page 3. AAJA awarded more than $30,000 in scholarships and internship grants to 22 high school and college students for the 1999-2000 academic year, including awards jointly given with Newhouse Newspapers. Winners include students from universities across the country pursuing careers in journalism and broadcasting.
- Union Bank of California Tops Fortune Magazine’s ‘Best Companies for Asians, Blacks, Hispanics’, by Pacific Citizen Staff and News Wires, page 3. Fortune magazine’s July 19th issue will feature its annual ranking of the best companies for minorities, with Union Bank of California topping the list. Other companies ranked include Sempra Energy, Toyota Motor Sales, Advantica, and Wal-Mart Stores, each evaluated on minority workforce percentages and representation in leadership positions.
- EEOC Vice Chair Igasaki Voices Optimism, Concern for Racial Equality, page 4. Paul Igasaki, vice chair of the EEOC and former JACL Washington D.C. representative, spoke at the EDC/MDC Bi-District conference about progress and ongoing challenges in racial equality. He cited recent hate crimes and espionage accusations as troubling signs, and urged audience members to speak out and build coalitions.
- Led By Angela Oh, New York’s Civil Rights Leaders Gather to Discuss State of Race Relations, by Caroline Aoyagi, page 5. A civil rights panel featuring Angela Oh of the President’s Initiative on Race and other New York civil rights leaders discussed the importance of dialogue in addressing race relations at the EDC/MDC Bi-District conference. Panelists discussed local New York issues, coalition building, and warned that minority communities could again become scapegoats during economic downturns.
- JACL Responds to Hate Crime Shooting Spree, page 8. JACL National President Helen Kawagoe and National Vice President Lori Fujimoto issued statements condemning the weekend hate-motivated shooting spree that killed a Korean American and an African American and wounded others. Fujimoto called for Congress to pass the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1999 to strengthen federal penalties for hate crimes.
- Supremacist Shooting Spree Details Emerge, by Associated Press, page 8. Additional details emerged about Benjamin Smith’s shooting spree, including attacks on six Asian men near the University of Illinois and the fatal shooting of Won-Joon Yoon outside a Bloomington, Indiana church. Smith had a history of distributing hate literature and trouble with campus police before the attacks.
JACL
- MDC Passes Draft Resisters Resolution, EDC Votes to Further Discuss Issue with Chapters, by Caroline Aoyagi, page 1. At the EDC/MDC Bi-District conference in New York over July 4th weekend, the Midwest District voted to support a national JACL resolution apologizing to WWII draft resisters, while the Eastern District chose to continue discussing the issue with its chapters. The resolution, originally written by the Northern California-Western Nevada-Pacific district, has already been approved by some JACL districts while others remain undecided.
- MDC/EDC Make Decisions on Draft Resister Resolution at Bi-District, page 4. Members of the Midwest and Eastern Districts debated a national JACL resolution apologizing to WWII draft resisters, with strong disagreement over the use of the word ‘apology.’ While MDC passed the resolution after brief discussion, EDC members raised concerns about wording and the need to educate younger generations about the controversy.
- EDC and MDC Tapping into Coalition Building, by Special to the Pacific Citizen, page 5. Paul Uyehara led a workshop at the Bi-District conference emphasizing the importance of coalition building for JACL, including joining efforts to preserve affirmative action and pass the Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The workshop outlined key components and benefits of effective coalition activity for the organization.
- Youth Interests to Recruit New Members, page 5. JACL youth representatives discussed using the Internet and technology to connect Japanese American youth with the organization, noting minimal youth membership and lack of recruitment efforts. Suggestions included creating a virtual chapter online and using family activities and cultural events to engage young people.
Commentary
- Now Is the Time, by Sachi Seko, page 4. The author argues that JACL’s apology to draft resisters is long overdue, comparing the delay to the government’s slow response on redress for Japanese American internees. She reflects on decades of animosity toward resisters and calls for national JACL to finally resolve this festering issue.
- ‘May Sky’ Prized Addition to Nikkei Literature, by Bill Marutani, page 6. The author reviews ‘May Sky, There is Always Tomorrow,’ an anthology of Japanese American concentration camp kaiko haiku compiled by Violet Kazue de Cristoforo. He praises the book’s trilingual format and its unique focus on the Nikkei experience during WWII incarceration.
- Names Dickstein, Fujikawa Recall Memories, by Bill Hosokawa, page 6. The author reflects on Samuel Dickstein, a corrupt congressman who nonetheless helped pass legislation granting citizenship to Issei WWI veterans, and on artist Gyo Fujikawa, whose rose stamp designs were used by the postal service. Fujikawa, known for illustrating children’s books, also designed earlier stamps featuring cherry blossoms in Washington D.C.
- How to Enhance Your Career Influence and Mobility: Getting More of What You Want, by Glen Kawafuchi, page 7. The author discusses how workers must adapt to a changing employment landscape by operating as ‘You, Inc.,’ treating themselves as businesses with markets, customers, and brand identities. He encourages Asian Pacific Americans to leverage their cultural values and unique skills to enhance career mobility and influence.
Sports
- Murakami Headed for Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame, page 7. A University of Hawaii baseball coach is being inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame alongside several other coaches. The inductees will join 183 coaches already honored in the ABCA Hall of Fame.
Obituaries
- Temin Harada, 87, Surgeon Aided ‘Hiroshima Maidens’, page 7. Dr. Temin Harada, who led 25 disfigured atomic bomb survivors known as the ‘Hiroshima Maidens’ to the United States in 1955 for plastic surgery, died June 15 in Hiroshima at age 87. He was known among peace activists for his missions in the U.S. and Europe during the 1960s.
- Shig Kariya, 84, Helped Found Mikasa, Inc., page 7. Shig Kariya, one of the founders of tableware company Mikasa, Inc., died June 25 of pneumonia at age 84. Born in Japan to immigrant parents, he recognized in the 1920s that Americans wanted affordable chinaware and partnered with other Nikkei to import inexpensive tableware, later receiving a decoration from the Emperor of Japan for promoting U.S.-Japan relations.
Incarceration & Redress
- Japan’s WWII Museum Opens Amidst Controversy, by Associated Press, page 8. Tokyo’s new Showa Hall museum, chronicling WWII, opened in March but avoids direct reference to Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, or Japan’s wartime responsibility, focusing instead on civilian hardships at home. The $101 million project faced years of controversy between groups wanting the war’s responsibility addressed and those opposing an anti-war memorial.
Community
- Puyallup Valley Chapter Installs Officers, page 8. The Puyallup Valley JACL chapter installed its 1999-2000 officers, led by PNW District Co-governor Elaine Akagi. New officers include Elsie Taniguchi as president along with several vice presidents and a treasurer.
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