Alien land laws, Nisei diplomas and a top U.S. diver

Vol. 134, No. 11, June 21, 2002. 12 pages. View this issue

Kimiko Hirai Soldati, the top female diver in the U.S., led the front page in a profile by Tracy Uba, which followed her path from a late start in the sport to Olympic training. Beside it, Caroline Aoyagi reported that Florida was the only state yet to move against its old Alien Land Law, and Martha Nakagawa told of four high schools that invited Nisei back to receive diplomas they could not collect in 1942 because of the wartime incarceration.

Inside are a summer tour schedule for Manzanar National Historic Site and a preview of the Tule Lake Pilgrimage. Commentary included Bill Marutani on the Endo and Korematsu rulings and Harry K. Honda on Executive Order 9066. Other pages cover the JACL Junior Olympics at 50, a Go For Broke Foundation film premiere, a call for a Wen Ho Lee pardon, and sports and casting notices.

What’s in this issue

Sports

• Obstacles Don’t Stop JA Diver From Reaching the Top, by Tracy Uba, page 1. Kimiko Hirai Soldati, the top female diver in the U.S. and oldest member of the national diving team at 28, has overcome a late start, injuries and her mother’s death from cancer to reach elite competition. She is training for the 2004 Athens Olympics after recent podium finishes at major international meets.
• JACL Jr. Olympics Celebrates 50 Years, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The 50th anniversary of the JACL Junior Olympics was celebrated at Chabot College in Hayward, Calif., honoring former athletes, record holders and longtime organizers Hank Nakamura and Steve Okamoto. Okamoto announced his retirement after decades of organizing the event.
• Yamasaki Back on Injured List, by P.C. Staff, page 7. WNBA rookie Yamasaki was placed back on Miami Sol’s injured list to make room for teammates as the team defeated the Orlando Miracle. She had recently scored nine points in her first regular season game and contributed seven points and three assists in a subsequent victory.
• Tom, U.S. Team to Take on Italy in Utah, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Outside hitter Logan Tom and the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team, coached by Toshi Yoshida, head to Utah for a four-match tour against Italy after being swept by Russia. The team, which includes setter Robyn Ah Mow, will later defend its World Grand Prix title and compete in the World Championships in Germany.
• Fans Learn About JA Legacy in Baseball, by P.C. Staff, page 7. San Francisco Giants fans got an early look at a traveling photo exhibit chronicling Japanese American baseball history, from pre-WWII teams to those formed during internment. Exhibit curator Kerry Yo Nakagawa displayed a photo of his uncle posing with Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth.
• Suzuki Leads AL All-Star Voting, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Reigning AL MVP Ichiro Suzuki leads all American League players in All-Star balloting with nearly 300,000 votes while batting .376. The All-Star Game will be played in Milwaukee on July 9 under AL manager Joe Torre.
• Woods Wins U.S. Open, Eyes Grand Slam, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Tiger Woods captured the U.S. Open on June 16, becoming the first player since Jack Nicklaus in 1972 to win the first two majors of the year. Having already won the Masters, Woods now pursues an unprecedented Grand Slam as he heads toward the British Open.
• Chen Hopes to Get Started in Cincinnati, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Left-hander Bruce Chen was traded to the Cincinnati Reds, his fifth team in recent seasons, after being acquired from the Montreal Expos. Manager Bob Boone said Chen’s potential keeps drawing interest from teams despite his frequent trades.
• AA Preteens Fail to Qualify for U.S. Women’s Open, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Four 12-year-old Asian American golfers, including Michelle Wie of Honolulu, competed in a sectional qualifier for the U.S. Women’s Open but failed to make the cut. Wie had the lowest score among the group despite having already played in LPGA tournaments this year.
• Huskers Eliminated From College World Series, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Shane Komine’s Nebraska Huskers were eliminated from the College World Series after a 10-8 loss to South Carolina, finishing the season 47-21. Komine, a former Kalani High School standout, recovered from elbow tendonitis to post a strong season with a 1.93 ERA.
• Mink Leads Congressional Delegation in Assets, by Associated Press, page 9. Financial disclosure reports show Rep. Patsy Mink leads Hawaii’s congressional delegation in personal assets, holding between $562,000 and $1.35 million. Other Hawaii delegation members including Sen. Daniel Inouye, Sen. Daniel Akaka, and Rep. Neil Abercrombie reported varying levels of assets and investments.

National

• Only Florida Missing From Bandwagon to Eliminate Racist Alien Land Laws, by Caroline Aoyagi, page 1. While Wyoming, Kansas and New Mexico have taken action to eliminate old Alien Land Laws targeting Asian immigrants, Florida remains the only state that has not moved to repeal its constitutional provision. Advocates including Rep. Phillip Brutus, Prof. Jack Chin and JACL’s John Tateishi are pushing for change, framing the issue as a civil rights matter rather than merely symbolic.
• Group Seeks Pardon for Wen Ho Lee, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Supporters of former Los Alamos scientist Wen Ho Lee are collecting signatures for a petition seeking a presidential pardon, arguing he was treated unfairly by the judicial and political system. The petition drive, led by Wenholee.org’s Cecilia Chang, aims for 10,000 signatures by June 30 to present to President Bush.
• Calif. Program on JA WWII Internment Wins Funding — Budget Fight Not Over, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The California Civil Liberties Public Education Program secured $750,000 in funding despite the state’s massive budget deficit, after Asian Pacific Islander legislators lobbied hard to preserve it. Assemblywoman Wilma Chan warns the fight isn’t over since the budget still needs a two-thirds legislative vote and the governor’s signature.
• National Newsbytes, by Pacific Citizen Staff and Associated Press, page 3. Roundup of national news including the South Asian Journalists Association renaming its award after slain reporter Daniel Pearl, San Jose police releasing traffic stop data addressing racial profiling concerns, and a UCLA study finding Asian Americans comprised only 3 percent of prime-time TV characters.

Community

• Pomp and Circumstance After 60 Years, by Martha Nakagawa, page 1. Four high schools in California and Washington invited back former Nisei students, who were unable to graduate in 1942 due to wartime incarceration, to finally receive diplomas and participate in commencement ceremonies. The article follows several Nisei graduates including Bette Nakatomi, Yoshie Fujita Hagiya, and others who shared mixed emotions about revisiting this painful chapter six decades later.
• AAPCHO Looks to Double Number of AAPIs Seen at Community Health Centers, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations is seeking to double the number of AAPIs served at community health centers under the federal REACH Initiative. The effort aims to address health disparities among AAPIs, who face high uninsured rates and language barriers to care.
• Summer Tour Schedule Set for Manzanar National Historic Site, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The National Park Service is offering guided tours of Manzanar National Historic Site through the summer, with restoration of the camp’s 1944 auditorium underway to become an interpretive center. The site also documents the history of the Owens Valley Paiute and earlier ranching and farming communities in the area.
• Tule Lake Pilgrimage: Revisiting ‘Patriotism’ Post-Sept. 11, by P.C. Staff, page 4. This year’s Tule Lake Pilgrimage, themed ‘Patriotism and Loyalty Revisited,’ will connect the WWII incarceration experience to post-9/11 racial attacks on Arab, Muslim and South Asian communities. The four-day event will feature speakers, cultural performances, a site tour led by former internee Jimi Yamaichi, and discussion groups.
• MAVIN Foundation’s Donor Program Receives Health Care Award, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The MAVIN Foundation’s MatchMaker Marrow Program won the Washington Health Foundation’s ‘Heroes of Health Care’ award for its innovative effort to register multiracial Americans as bone marrow donors. The program was nominated by a father whose biracial daughter battling leukemia struggled to find a matching donor.

JACL

• Rep. Honda and Mori to Keynote WWII Salute Dinner; Mineta Unable to Attend, by P.C. Staff, page 3. JACL is hosting a dinner to officially recognize wartime leaders Mike Masaoka, Saburo Kido, and others for their contributions during a controversial period in JACL history. The Sacramento JACL chapter is sponsoring the event, though Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta will be unable to attend as originally planned.
• PSW District Seeking Applicants for Sacramento Leadership Conference, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The JACL Pacific Southwest district is recruiting youth ages 18-25 to attend the CASIC Summer Internship Leadership Conference in Sacramento, marking the district’s first participation in the 11-year-old program. Applicants will meet elected officials and APA legislative aides during the three-day conference in August.

Arts & Entertainment

• Go For Broke Foundation Premieres Film, ‘A Tradition of Honor’, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Go For Broke Foundation premiered a 90-minute documentary about Japanese American WWII veterans, including those from the Military Intelligence Service, intended for use in California classrooms. Veterans and foundation leaders including executive director Christine Sato-Yamazaki were featured at the event.
• Urgent Casting Call for AA Actors in Denzel Washington Film, by P.C. Staff, page 7. A casting search is underway for a funny Asian or Asian American character actor age 35 or older for an MGM feature film starring Denzel Washington. The 13-day shoot will take place in Miami this summer.
• Tom Cruise Film Seeks Japanese Lead Actors, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Warner Brothers is seeking Japanese actors of various ages for ‘The Last Samurai,’ starring Tom Cruise and directed by Edward Zwick. The roles include Japanese women, children, and young men with equestrian and martial arts experience.
• Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival Seeks Entries, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival is accepting submissions of features, shorts, and experimental works featuring Asian or Asian North American talent in key roles. There is no entry fee and the deadline is Aug. 1.
• ‘Visas and Virtue’ Producers Seek Donations and Extras for New Film, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Cedar Grove Productions, the Oscar-winning team behind ‘Visas and Virtue,’ is seeking donations and community members to work as extras for a new film titled ‘An Independence Day,’ about a Nisei baseball pitcher whose family faces repatriation to Japan. The eight-day shoot is scheduled for August near Stockton, Calif.

Commentary

• Santa Fe Internment Camp Marker — Symbol of Past Strife, Present Healing, by Gail Y. Okawa, page 6. More than 250 people gathered in Santa Fe, N.M., to dedicate a stone marker commemorating the WWII Department of Justice internment camp where over 4,000 Japanese men were held. The dedication overcame protests from some WWII veterans, though other veterans like Bataan Death March survivor Vicente Ojinaga supported the marker.
• Keep Those Reparations Records Handy, by Karl Kim, page 6. Financial advisor Karl Kim advises Japanese Americans who received redress payments to keep proof of that payment, since it allows an additional $20,000 asset exemption when applying for Medi-Cal long-term care benefits. He explains how to request replacement documentation from the Department of Justice if the original check record is lost.
• The Trilogy: Part Two, by Bill Marutani, page 8. Continuing his analysis of the Supreme Court’s WWII-era rulings, Marutani examines the Endo and Korematsu decisions, criticizing the Court’s reasoning that upheld the incarceration of Japanese Americans based on race. He argues the rulings misapplied notions of civic duty to justify constitutional violations against citizens.
• U.S. Victory at Midway Didn’t Deter E.O. 9066 Generals, by Harry K. Honda, page 8. Honda reflects on the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Midway, noting that despite the decisive American naval victory, the government continued executing Executive Order 9066 and incarcerating Japanese Americans. He references Mike Masaoka’s wartime testimony and recounts the deployment of the 100th Infantry Battalion around the same period.
• East Wind, by Harry K. Honda, page 8. Honda examines the timing of the government’s December 1944 withdrawal of the West Coast exclusion order, noting it came one day before the Supreme Court’s Endo decision and only after President Roosevelt secured reelection. He suggests the delay was a politically calculated move despite officials knowing months earlier that the exclusion was unjustified.

Obituaries

• Lily Chin Passes on the 20th Anniversary of Son’s Murder, by P.C. Staff, page 11. Lily Chin, mother of Vincent Chin whose 1982 murder became a landmark case symbolizing anti-Asian violence, died at age 82 after a long illness. She had fought for justice following her son’s killing and helped found American Citizens for Justice after the killers received only probation.

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