Redress checks 20 years on, Obon, and a Tule Lake pilgrimage

Vol. 149, No. 3, August 7, 2009. 16 pages. View this issue

Twenty years after Japanese Americans received their $20,000 Redress checks, Nalea J. Ko and Leslie K. Tamura looked at what the money meant, including one check that was never cashed. Floyd Mori reflected on the Tule Lake Pilgrimage and the different ways the Issei and Nisei responded to wartime incarceration (often called internment). Ko also wrote about Obon festivals and the Peace Crane Memorial Project, where two Minnesota teens gathered over 150,000 paper cranes. The National Park Service awarded nearly $1 million in grants for incarceration sites, with Heart Mountain receiving the largest.

Elsewhere in the issue, a House subcommittee voted 7 to 2 to advance the JLA Commission bill, and North Korea pardoned journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee. Readers will also find a Korematsu case reenactment planned in Riverside, a Los Angeles school renamed for Young Oak Kim, and scholarship news from several JACL chapters.

What’s in this issue

Commentary

• An Enlightening Tule Lake Pilgrimage, by Floyd Mori, page 2. JACL National Director Floyd Mori reflects on attending the Tule Lake Pilgrimage, describing how the experience deepened his understanding of the segregation center’s history and stigma. He discusses the values of loyalty, justice and fairness inherited from Issei and Nisei forebears and how they shaped different responses to wartime incarceration.
• Honoring Our Veterans, by Leo H. Hosoda, page 2. A letter to the editor argues that while the ‘No-No Boys’ had the right to respond as they did to flawed loyalty questions, the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team veterans deserve greater recognition and honor. The writer notes that Redress and the presidential apology stemmed from resolutions recognizing the 100th/442nd’s accomplishments and urges honoring these aging veterans before they pass on.
• Moving Forward, by John Tateishi, page 8. Former JACL National Director John Tateishi reflects on how America’s political atmosphere has shifted from fear-based rhetoric under the Bush administration to a more hopeful tone under President Obama. He argues that despite ongoing economic and global challenges, the country has regained a moral center by taking responsibility rather than assigning blame.
• 5 Years in the Making, by Yiwni Sakugawa, page 8. The columnist recounts volunteering for ‘The Party,’ a fundraiser for the Tuesday Night Café in Little Tokyo, and reflects on reconnecting with the passionate community she knew from her college years and the Nikkei Community Internship. She recalls community leaders’ words that ‘the community will always be there for you,’ finding the sentiment still true five years later.
• MORI: An Enlightening Tule Lake Pilgrimage (continued), by Floyd Mori, page 13. Continuing his column, Mori discusses the JACL’s 2002 apology ceremony for Nisei Resisters of Conscience and calls for further conversations about Tule Lake to heal community divisions. He also describes the dedication of the Tule Lake Unit of the WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument, attended by Japanese consulate officials and National Park Service representatives.

National

• Redress Compensation Checks Leave Lasting Impression, by Nalea J. Ko and Leslie K. Tamura, page 3. Twenty years after Japanese Americans received their $20,000 Redress checks, the Pacific Citizen examines the lasting legacy of the compensation, including one unused check recently discovered by the Kodama family. The article explores how recipients used the money—donating to organizations, saving it, or expressing that it was ‘too little, too late’—and revisits the difficult history and debate surrounding the Redress movement.
• The Peace Crane Memorial Project: Healing Past Wrongs With Origami, by Nalea J. Ko, page 5. Minnesota teens Michelle Reed and Carly Gutzmann far exceeded their goal of collecting 120,313 paper cranes to honor Japanese Americans interned during WWII, gathering over 150,000 cranes for their Peace Crane Memorial Project. Their efforts inspired a similar initiative, the California Origami Peace Crane Project, at the Riverside Metropolitan Museum.
• NPS Awards JA Internment Grants, by Pacific Citizen Staff, page 6. The National Park Service awarded nearly $1 million in grants to preserve and increase awareness of WWII Japanese American internment sites, with the Heart Mountain Relocation Center receiving the largest grant of $282,253. Three JACL chapters also received funding, while the Minidoka National Historic Site was notably absent from the list of awardees.
• N. Korean Leader Pardons APA Journalists, by Pacific Citizen Staff and Associated Press, page 6. North Korea’s Kim Jong Il pardoned journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee after former President Bill Clinton met with him, following their March detention and June sentencing to 12 years hard labor. The journalists’ families expressed gratitude to U.S. officials and anticipation of reuniting with them.
• New Stamp to Commemorate Hawaii Statehood Anniversary, by Pacific Citizen Staff and Associated Press, page 6. The U.S. Postal Service is unveiling a commemorative stamp for Hawaii’s 50th statehood anniversary featuring artwork by Herb Kawainui Kane depicting a surfer and outrigger canoe paddlers. Gov. Linda Lingle will display the stamp at the Hawaii Statehood Conference on Aug. 21, when it becomes available nationwide.
• Magazine Will Cater to South Asians, by Pacific Citizen Staff and Associated Press, page 6. Indian entrepreneur Rick Khosla is launching Washington Masala, a magazine modeled after Washington Life, to serve educated, affluent South Asians in the Washington D.C. area. Despite a poor economy, a New America Media poll shows ethnic media consumption is growing in the region.
• Japanese Tea Garden May Soon Get a New Operator, by Pacific Citizen Staff and Associated Press, page 6. San Francisco is close to approving a new operator for the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park, with officials from Murata’s Cafe Hana in Japantown selected to bring more authenticity to the attraction. Current operator Fred Lo has fought the search, and the Board of Supervisors must still approve the deal.
• Group of Veterans Agrees to Compromise on Wichita Memorial, by Pacific Citizen Staff and Associated Press, page 6. U.S. veterans agreed to a compromise keeping a memorial to South Vietnamese soldiers out of a Wichita park after the plan prompted outrage from veterans groups. The compromise allows the memorial to be built near, but not on, park grounds, and the Wichita City Council approved it.
• JLA Commission Bill Garners Favorable, Bipartisan Vote in House Subcommittee, by Pacific Citizen Staff, page 7. A House subcommittee voted 7 to 2 to advance H.R. 42, the JLA Commission bill, which would establish a federal commission to investigate the WWII deportation and internment of Japanese Latin Americans by the U.S. government. Campaign for Justice is urging supporters to contact Judiciary Committee members to back the legislation.
• Hirasaki Receives Order of the Rising Sun Award, by Pacific Citizen Staff, page 7. George Hirasaki, a Rice University chemical engineering professor and former Houston JACL president, received Japan’s prestigious Order of the Rising Sun Award for his dedication to the JA community. The award, established by Emperor Meiji, was given to only 15 people in the U.S. this year, including director Clint Eastwood.
• Law Professor Tapped as Civil Rights Czar, by Pacific Citizen Staff, page 7. Seton Hall Law School professor Chinh Q. Le has been chosen as New Jersey’s next civil rights protection czar. Le, a former NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund assistant counsel, now focuses on affordable housing, mortgage fraud and tenant rights at Seton Hall’s Center for Social Justice.
• Senate Votes to Expand U.S. Hate Crimes Law, by P.C. Staff and Associated Press, page 10. The Senate approved the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act, expanding federal hate crimes law to include crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. JACL had urged its members to support the bill, calling it the most significant extension of hate crimes law since 1968.
• WWII JAs ‘Could Have Used Someone Like Judge Sotomayor on Their Side’, by P.C. Staff and Associated Press, page 13. JACL praised Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor’s testimony calling the Korematsu decision ‘inconceivable,’ with National Director Floyd Mori saying WWII-era Japanese Americans could have used an advocate like her. Sotomayor cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee 13-6 and awaited a full Senate confirmation vote to become the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice.
• Riverside To Host Reenactment of 1944 Korematsu Case, by Pacific Citizen Staff, page 15. Constitutional scholars Erwin Chemerinsky and John C. Eastman will reenact the oral arguments from the 1944 Korematsu v. United States case at the Court of Appeals in Riverside, marking 65 years since the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Japanese American incarceration. Fred Korematsu’s daughter, Karen Korematsu-Haigh, will attend as a special guest, noting her father’s belief in educating the public to prevent history from repeating.

In-Depth

• Lighting the Way Home: Celebrating Culture at Obon Festivals, by Nalea J. Ko, page 4. The article explores the Buddhist origins and evolution of Obon festivals in the Japanese American community, featuring interviews with temple leaders and volunteers like Wayne Itoga at the Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple. It traces the festival’s history from a Buddhist myth about honoring ancestors to its modern role as both a spiritual observance and community fundraiser.

Community

• L.A. Middle School to be Renamed Young Oak Kim Academy, by Pacific Citizen Staff, page 7. Central Los Angeles Area Middle School No. 3 is being renamed Young Oak Kim Academy in honor of Kim, the first APA commissioned as a U.S. Army officer who served in the 100th Infantry Battalion during WWII. An October campus dedication is planned.
• L.A. Event to Commemorate 10th Anniversary of Ileto Murder, by Pacific Citizen Staff, page 7. Asian Pacific American groups are hosting an Aug. 10 event to reflect on the impact of the 1999 murder of Filipino American postal worker Joseph Ileto by a white supremacist. The event, sponsored by APALC and co-sponsored by PSW JACL, will feature Ileto’s family members and lawmakers including Rep. Judy Chu and Assemblyman Mike Eng.
• Vets Group Kicks Off Fundraising for Seattle JA Memorial, by Pacific Citizen Staff, page 10. The Nisei Veterans Committee launched a $1.2 million fundraising campaign to build a memorial wall in Seattle honoring both WWII internees and Nisei veterans. The memorial, designed by architect Jay Deguchi, will feature inscribed bricks with a minimum $250 donation, and the group has already raised about $330,000.
• Building Bridges & Constructing Coalition: Reflections on the JACL EDC/MDC Bi-District Conference, by Lisa K. Hanasono, page 11. The author recounts attending the JACL EDC/MDC Bi-District Conference in Cincinnati, which focused on building partnerships and coalitions for civil rights advocacy. Highlights included workshops, a joint resolution on immigration reform, the swearing-in of new district governors, and discussions about creating JACL university affiliates.
• UC to Honor Former WWII Internees, by Associated Press and P.C. Staff, page 12. The University of California’s Board of Regents voted to grant honorary degrees to an estimated 700 former Japanese American students whose studies were interrupted by WWII internment, lifting a 37-year moratorium on honorary degrees for this one-time recognition. Former UCSF nursing student Grace Amemiya expressed joy at finally being recognized as a full-fledged UC alumna.

JACL

• Cleveland JACL Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Scholarship Program, by Pacific Citizen Staff, page 7. The Cleveland JACL and Cleveland Japanese American Foundation awarded $1,000 scholarships to several students, marking the 50th anniversary of the chapter’s scholarship program established in 1959. The program recognizes exemplary high school graduates.
• San Fernando Valley JACL Recognizes Burgeoning Leaders, by Pacific Citizen Staff, page 7. The San Fernando Valley JACL and Japanese American Community Center awarded annual scholarships to Molly Serizawa and Michael Nishida. A committee of community members selected the recipients.
• Pasadena JACL Awards Scholarships, by Pacific Citizen Staff, page 7. Dean Sasaki was awarded the $2,500 Chiyo M. Hattori Memorial Scholarship for students pursuing medical careers, while Tyler Oyakawa received the chapter’s $1,000 scholarship for an area high school senior. The chapter also recognized intern Kristin Fukushima, who works on public policy issues with JACL PSW.
• JACL Seeking Mineta Fellow, by Pacific Citizen Staff, page 12. The JACL is seeking applicants for the Norman Y. Mineta Fellowship in its Washington, D.C. office, focused on public policy advocacy and safety awareness in the AAPI community. The fellowship, funded by State Farm Insurance, offers a stipend of $2,000 to $2,500 monthly for six to ten months.

Arts & Entertainment

• ‘Paper Heart’: On Love, by Nalea J. Ko, page 9. Comedienne Charlyne Yi discusses her new hybrid documentary-narrative film ‘Paper Heart,’ in which her character sets out to disprove true love but ends up falling for co-star Michael Cera. Yi talks about her unconventional path to comedy, her family’s support, and the blurred lines between her real persona and her on-screen character.

Obituaries

• Paul Yashiro Shinoda, page 15. Paul Shinoda, who built a lifelong career in the flower industry after founding the San Lorenzo Nursery Company, passed away in Santa Barbara at 96 after a rich and full life. He was remembered for his community service with the Boy Scouts, Kiwanis Clubs, JACL and local churches, as well as his devotion to family and his beloved tradition of hosting mochi-making gatherings.
• Tomoye Muraoka, page 15. Tomoye Muraoka, born in Selma, Calif. in 1913, was interned at Rohwer, Ark. before living many years in Cincinnati, Ohio. She passed away in Chicago surrounded by her loving family, survived by her children, grandchildren, and many friends who remembered her kind and gentle nature.

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