Redress hearings, the Okubo clinic and a Coulter column on Mineta

Vol. 134, No. 5, March 15, 2002. 12 pages. View this issue

A new medical and dental clinic at Fort Lewis, Wash., named for James K. Okubo, opened this issue. Gen. Eric Shinseki and Gov. Gary Locke dedicated it, recalling Okubo’s service with the 442nd after his family’s incarceration at Tule Lake and Heart Mountain. Martha Nakagawa reported on two bills, H.R. 619 and S. 1237, that would restore public education funding under the Civil Liberties Act and extend redress to Japanese Latin Americans. JACL also condemned an Ann Coulter column attacking Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta.

Commentary included Loren M. Ishii’s open letter on JACL’s planned apology to the draft resisters, and columns by Harry Honda on the Imperial Valley and Brian Niiya on Day of Remembrance events in Hawaii. Monterey and Santa Cruz counties rescinded 1943 anti-Japanese resolutions, and a plaque honored those held at Santa Anita. Winter Olympics coverage, a Heart Mountain honor roll project and book reviews fill the rest of the 12 pages.

What’s in this issue

National

• Army Chief of Staff and Washington Governor Dedicate James K. Okubo Medical and Dental Clinic, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Gen. Eric Shinseki and Gov. Gary Locke dedicated a new $10.5 million medical and dental clinic at Fort Lewis, Wash., named after Medal of Honor recipient James K. Okubo, a Nisei combat medic with the 442nd who had been interned at Tule Lake and Heart Mountain. Three generations of the Okubo family attended, including his widow Nobuyo, and the complex became the second Washington institution named after a Nisei Medal of Honor recipient.
• Upcoming Redress Hearings Need Public Support, by Martha Nakagawa, Assistant Editor, page 1. Campaign for Justice is pushing two congressional bills, H.R. 619 and S. 1237, that would replenish public education funding under the Civil Liberties Act and provide redress equity for Japanese Latin Americans and Japanese Americans denied redress on technical grounds. Advocates say only $5 million of an expected $50 million in public education funds was ever appropriated, and the new legislation could provide the remaining $45 million.
• National JACL Condemns Coulter Column Attacking Mineta, by Pacific Citizen Staff, page 1. Conservative columnist Ann Coulter wrote a column titled ‘Mineta’s Bataan Death March’ blaming Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta for the Sept. 11 attacks and attacking his WWII internment experience. JACL and other organizations, including Rep. Mike Honda and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, strongly condemned the column and called on media outlets to drop Coulter’s syndicated column.
• 2002 California Primary: Adachi Defeats Burton, Eu Faces Upset, Japantown Measure Passes, by Pacific Citizen Staff and Associated Press, page 3. Jeff Adachi defeated Kimiko Burton for San Francisco Public Defender despite her outspending him, while March Fong Eu lost her bid to reclaim California Secretary of State to Kevin Shelley. Proposition 40 passed, earmarking funds that could benefit Little Tokyo and Japantowns in San Francisco and San Jose.
• National Newsbytes, by Pacific Citizen Staff and Associated Press, page 3. A Census Bureau report shows California, New York and Hawaii home to over half the nation’s Asian population, with Daly City having the largest Asian majority outside Honolulu. Other briefs cover improved options for immigrant domestic violence victims and a decline in anti-Arab hate crimes reported by California’s Attorney General since Sept. 11.
• Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation Looking to Update Honor Roll, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation is building a replica of the original WWII military honor roll, which had weathered beyond recognition, and is asking the public to help verify names of those who served. Bacon Sakatani, a former Heart Mountain internee, has worked for years collecting names for the project, which will be dedicated later this year.
• Redress (continued): CFJ Pushes for Senate Hearings on S.1237, by P.C. Staff, page 9. Campaign for Justice argues that had the U.S. government properly invested the $1.65 billion in redress funds as required under the Civil Liberties Act, there would be enough interest to fund public education and remaining redress claims. The group is urging the public to write to Senate Judiciary Committee members, donate, and volunteer to support upcoming hearings on S.1237.

Community

• Northern Calif. Counties Rescind 1943 Anti-Japanese Resolutions, by Caroline Aoyagi, Executive Editor, page 1. Historian Sandy Lydon’s discovery of a 1943 anti-Japanese county resolution sparked efforts that led Monterey and Santa Cruz counties to unanimously rescind their wartime resolutions protesting the release of Japanese Americans from internment camps. Efforts are now underway to get San Benito County to follow suit, timed with an April reenactment event.
• Dedication Ceremony Honors Former Nikkei Internees, by Martha Nakagawa, page 3. Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich joined former Santa Anita assembly center internees and their families on March 2 for a dedication ceremony of a plaque recognizing that the Santa Anita Race Track once housed Nikkei during World War II. Notables including Rose Ochi and jockey Corey Nakatani attended the event organized by Alan ‘Horse’ Yoshinaga.
• People in the News, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Pat Okura, past JACL national president, will be inducted into the Montgomery County, Md., Office of Human Rights Hall of Fame for his role in JACL’s participation in Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington. Ann Matsushima of Torrance was selected to attend the National Young Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C.
• Watsonville-Santa Cruz JACL Hosts Teacher Training Workshop, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Teachers from the Monterey Bay and Santa Clara Valley attended a workshop titled ‘An American Story: The Japanese American Experience,’ featuring speakers including internee Kitako Izumizaki, veterans from the 100th/442nd RCT and MIS, and Fred and Kathy Korematsu. The workshop, funded by the Go For Broke Educational Foundation, received high praise from participating teachers.
• JA Korean War Vets Plan Hawaii Tour and Cruise, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Japanese American Korean War Veterans are planning a 10-night, 4-island cruise on the Royal Caribbean’s ‘Vision of the Seas’ departing from Honolulu on Sept. 26. The trip includes the opening of the JAKWV Korean War Exhibit at the Japanese Cultural Center in Honolulu and a ceremony at the Korean and Vietnam War Memorial.
• Newly Formed Sawtooth Chapter Elects Officers, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The newly formed Sawtooth chapter of JACL’s Intermountain District, located in South Central Idaho, elected its officers with National JACL President Floyd Mori in attendance. More than half of the chapter’s members are JAYS, who will participate in projects including Minidoka clean-up and a taiko group.
• East Bay Nikkei Singles Offering Scholarship, by P.C. Staff, page 4. East Bay Nikkei Singles is offering a $500 scholarship for Asians from single-parent households who are high school graduates planning to attend higher education institutions in fall 2002. The application deadline is April 15.
• Cincinnati and Dayton Install Officers, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Cincinnati and Dayton JACL chapters recently installed their newly elected officers in a joint ceremony with 18 other Dayton-area organizations. A photo shows the officers from both chapters.
• Applicants Sought for Hana Uno Memorial Scholarship 2002, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The GLAS JACL is seeking applicants for its $1,000 Hana Uno Memorial Scholarship for graduating high school seniors from single-parent Japanese American families in Los Angeles or Orange County. The scholarship honors Hana Uno Shepard, sister of Edison Uno, who lobbied for redress in Washington D.C.
• Resolution Rescission Efforts Continue in San Benito County, by P.C. Staff, page 9. Following Monterey and Santa Cruz counties’ rescission of their 1943 anti-Japanese resolutions, efforts are now focused on San Benito County, where Tony Boch is researching county records to find and rescind the original resolution. Advocates say the effort is especially timely given the backlash against Arab and Muslim Americans after Sept. 11.

Commentary

• An Open Letter to the Draft Resisters, Their Supporters and National JACL Leaders, by Loren M. Ishii, page 2. A Sacramento VFW post commander and Army veteran writes that while veterans hold no grudge against WWII draft resisters, they strongly object to JACL’s planned formal apology ceremony to the resisters, saying it does not speak for over 4,500 members of 18 Nisei veterans organizations. He warns that veterans will turn their backs on the May 11 apology ceremony if JACL proceeds.
• Re: Apology, by N. Ota, page 2. A letter writer responds to an earlier letter about the apology to draft resisters, criticizing the California Nisei Veterans of Foreign Wars for what he calls reckless attacks and dishonest rhetoric. He compares their stance to that of bigots and scoundrels from World War II.
• Nisei Pharmacy, by Dennis O. Worthen, Ph.D., page 2. A researcher writing a history of pharmacy during World War II is seeking information on Nisei pharmacists and pharmacy students of the period, including those interned and those who attended pharmacy school on the GI Bill. He invites readers with relevant information or experiences to contact him directly.
• Salt Lake City Where?, by Raymond Uno, Heart Mountain Reunion VIII Committee Chair, page 5. The chair of the Heart Mountain Reunion VIII committee describes how the successful Salt Lake City Winter Olympics have raised the city’s profile, and details plans for the upcoming reunion to be held there Aug. 30-Sept. 2. The reunion will include pre- and post-tours to Heart Mountain/Yellowstone and Southern Utah/Las Vegas.
• Teikoku Heigen — Imperial Valley Beckons, by Harry Honda, page 8. Columnist Harry Honda recounts the history of Japanese American settlement in California’s Imperial Valley, from the first Issei farmers in 1904 through a 1935 anti-Japanese hysteria incident exposed as fabricated by JACL and the Los Angeles Illustrated Daily News. He also describes the wartime closure of the Brawley Buddhist Temple and a recent Nikkei reunion attended by 300 people, including keynote speaker Joe Horiye.
• DOR in Hawaii, by Brian Niiya, page 8. Columnist Brian Niiya compares Day of Remembrance events in Hawaii to those on the mainland, noting Hawaii’s DORs receive more mainstream media coverage and elected official attendance due to the smaller scale and historical influence of the local Japanese American community. He also discusses how Hawaii’s DOR serves a dual function as both a political event and a camp reunion, unlike on the mainland.

JACL

• March 28 Nominations Deadline Approaching for JACLer of the Biennium, Edison Uno Civil Rights Award and George J. Inagaki Chapter Citizenship Award, by P.C. Staff, page 2. National JACL’s Awards and Recognition Committee is seeking nominations for three major awards recognizing outstanding contributions to JACL, civil rights leadership, and chapter citizenship. The nomination deadline is 5 p.m. Thursday, March 28, with nominations to be sent to National JACL Headquarters in San Francisco.
• 2001 Saw Increase in JACL Membership, by Gary Mayeda, Nat’l V.P. of Membership, page 4. JACL membership increased 3 percent in 2001 despite difficult economic times, with the Intermountain District Council posting the greatest percentage increase at 16 percent. The column highlights outstanding chapters and stresses the importance of JACL’s role in fostering civil liberties awareness post-Sept. 11.

Sports

• 2002 Winter Olympics Wrap-up: Salt Lake Games Produce Role Models for Minority Athletes, by Associated Press, page 7. The Winter Olympics produced role models for minority youth across the country, including Asian American figure skater Michelle Kwan and speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno, whose father is Japanese American. Young minority athletes in Chicago and New York described feeling inspired and encouraged by seeing athletes of their own backgrounds succeed at the Games.
• Memorable Olympics for Ohno, Speedskaters, by Associated Press, page 7. Apolo Anton Ohno and the U.S. speedskating team had a strong showing at the Salt Lake City Olympics, with Ohno winning gold and silver despite a disqualification in the final race. The long-track team tied a U.S. record with eight medals, led by Derek Parra and Jennifer Rodriguez who each won two.
• Wie Shoots 74, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Twelve-year-old Michelle Wie, the youngest player to earn a spot in an LPGA Tour event through qualifying, shot a 4-over 74 in the Takefuji Classic to finish at 6-over 146. Wie said she was happy just to be there despite having little chance to make the cut.
• Komiyama Hit Hard in Mets Camp, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Japanese pitcher Satoru Komiyama struggled in a Mets intrasquad game, giving up five hits and three runs in one inning while adjusting to the larger major league baseball compared to Japan’s version. Mets manager Bobby Valentine noted Komiyama has room to improve as he transitions to MLB.
• Hawaii to Face California in Prep Football Showdown, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Hawaii’s top high school football programs, Kahuku and St. Louis, will face California powerhouses Poly of Long Beach and De La Salle of Concord in exhibition games at Aloha Stadium this fall. The Hawaii High School Athletic Association will cover costs estimated at more than $100,000 for the event.

Arts & Entertainment

• Asian CineVision Announces Scholarship Semi-finalists, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Asian CineVision announced Johanna Lee and Kimi Takesue as semi-finalists for the 2002 ABC New Talent Development Scholarship Grant Program, sponsored by ABC and Disney. The grants of up to $20,000 will support completion of film projects, including Lee’s ‘Jersey Seoul’ and Takesue’s ‘The Summer of the Serpent.’
• S.F. Int’l AA Film Festival Runs Through March 17, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The National Asian American Telecommunications Association held its 20th annual San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival through March 17, featuring over 135 films and videos in 43 programs. Venues included AMC Kabuki 8, Castro Theatre, Pacific Film Archive and Camera 3 Cinema.
• Book and Media Reviews: Unfinished Message and Other New Releases, by P.C. Staff, page 12. This roundup reviews numerous new book and media releases including ‘Unfinished Message: Selected Works of Toshio Mori,’ ‘Unexplored Avenues of Japanese Painting,’ ‘Bitter Melon: Inside America’s Last Rural Chinese Town,’ and poetry collections by Shuntaro Tanikawa and contributors to ‘Intersecting Circles: The Voices of Hapa Women.’ It also covers cookbooks, children’s books, and a documentary video on Asian American women poets.

Obituaries

• Idaho Falls JACL Mourns Pioneers Mary Miyasaki, 78; Sud Morishita, 81, by P.C. Staff, page 11. Idaho Falls JACL lost two pioneering members: Sadao ‘Sud’ Morishita, a charter member and former chapter president who was a delegate at the 1942 national emergency session, and Mary Miyasaki, who with her husband Tom operated a poultry farm and was active in her church and community. Both were longtime fixtures of the Idaho Falls Japanese American community.
• Death Notice: Shinji Sugimoto, by P.C. Staff, page 11. Shinji Sugimoto, 79, of Los Angeles, passed away Feb. 24 at home surrounded by family after a career that included work in entertainment, an appliance store and a laundromat, and later delivering sandwiches for his son’s business. He is survived by his wife, children, 10 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren, and siblings; services were held March 1.

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