Vol. 105, No. 19, December 4, 1987. 12 pages. View this issue
The Smithsonian exhibit “A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans and the U.S. Constitution” ran through this issue. On the front page, Laurie Mochidome reported on the Central California District Council convention in Fresno, where curator Dr. Thomas Crouch explained why the exhibit used the World War II incarceration (often called internment) to mark the Constitution’s birthday. A Fresno Bee editorial on page 5 returned to the exhibit and its meaning for Fresno. Also on the front page, the JACL-LEC Office reported on the Universal Voter Registration Bill, which JACL backed.
Other pieces include Bill Marutani on Asian American bar associations, Frank Chin on wartime JACL leadership, Bill Hosokawa on notable Japanese Americans, and the first part of a series by Marshall Sumida and Joe Oyama on the press and the forced removal. The issue also carried a call to revive the Mike M. Masaoka Fellowship Fund and an update on the Minoru Yasui coram nobis case.
What’s in this issue
JACL
- Crouch Speech Highlights CCDC Convention, by Laurie Mochidome, page 1. The Central California District Council’s 38th annual convention in Fresno featured Smithsonian curator Dr. Thomas Crouch as keynote speaker, discussing the ‘A More Perfect Union’ exhibit on Japanese American WWII internment and the Constitution. The convention also covered district business including redress legislation updates and fundraising accomplishments for JACL-LEC.
- Call Renewed for Masaoka Fellowships, page 8. The National JACL Board relaunched the Mike M. Masaoka Fellowship Fund, originally conceived in 1983, to support leadership development and honor Masaoka’s decades of civil rights advocacy work. A steering committee led by H. Tom Tamaki is soliciting contributions in categories ranging from Friend to Emeritus Fellow.
- Minoru Yasui Memorial Fund Donors, page 8. A supplemental list of 135 donors to the Minoru Yasui Memorial Fund was published, adding to the 1,513 previously listed donors. Lead counsel Peggy Nagae Lum had submitted a petition for rehearing to the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the Yasui coram nobis case, with no word received as of Nov. 14.
- Hid Hasegawa’s Style of Governing Intermountain Like Running a Tight Ship, by Harry K. Honda, page 10. Hid Hasegawa of Idaho Falls was re-elected to his fourth biennium as Intermountain District Council governor at a convention in Jackpot, Nevada. The article details his efficient meeting style and the district’s practice of meeting centrally due to the geographic spread of its eight chapters.
- ‘Graduates’ Committed to JACL, by Priscilla Ouchida, page 10. Participants in the 1987 Washington D.C. Leadership Program class met with government and community leaders and emerged committed to JACL’s future and mission. The four-year-old program has produced over 30 alumni now serving at all levels of JACL leadership.
Community
- Asian Success Story a Myth, Says Furutani, page 1. UCLA administrator Warren Furutani told a California bilingual educators conference that the perception of Asian-Pacific immigrants succeeding in record numbers is a myth, with most not going to college. He emphasized the history of discrimination against Asian Americans and praised Stockton as a historic center of Asian-Pacific America.
- Speedy Gift Idea: ‘They Call Me Moses Masaoka’ from P.C., page 2. William Morrow & Co. is shipping Mike Masaoka’s autobiography ‘They Call Me Moses Masaoka’ written with Bill Hosokawa for holiday sales. The Pacific Citizen will ship the book as a JACL membership service via 1st Class Priority Mail for $22 per copy domestically.
- Nursing Home Fund-raiser Draws 700, page 3. Nearly 700 people attended ‘A Night to Honor Angelo K. Tsakopoulos,’ a 1987 fundraiser for the Asian Community Nursing Home in Sacramento. The event featured gourmet Asian appetizers donated by over 50 restaurants and received recognition from numerous local officials.
National
- Voter Registration Bill Introduced, Has Support of JACL, 90 Civic Groups, by The JACL-LEC Office, page 1. Senator Alan Cranston and Rep. John Conyers introduced the Universal Voter Registration Bill allowing same-day registration and voting, which JACL and JACL-LEC supported citing historical disenfranchisement of Japanese Americans. The bill is backed by 91 citizen organizations and aims to reverse declining voter participation in the U.S.
- Two Nikkei Caught Embezzling, page 2. Henry Shimohara and George Nakahara, owner and manager of Lawndale Nursery, were ordered to pay $129,722 restitution for billing the Los Angeles Unified School District for plants never delivered. They pleaded no contest to grand theft charges and were placed on probation along with community service requirements.
- Inouye Releases Statement About Iran/contra Affair, page 2. Senate Select Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye released a statement on the joint congressional report investigating the Iran/contra affair, calling it fair, balanced and bipartisan. The report found that officials disdained constitutional government and that the president failed in his duty to ensure laws were faithfully executed.
- Fujiyoshi Ordered to Leave Japan, page 3. American missionary Ronald Susumu Fujiyoshi was ordered out of Japan by the Justice Ministry after refusing to be fingerprinted under Japan’s Alien Registration Law. Fujiyoshi plans to appeal to Japan’s Supreme Court and the United Nations, with his next High Court hearing scheduled for Dec. 15.
- AA Staff Writers Receive Threats, by Serena Chen, page 3. Two Chinese American UC Davis students, Bill Wong and Irving Fong, writers for the campus’s Third World Forum newspaper, received threatening calls from a man claiming to be a Ku Klux Klan member demanding they stop writing. The incident comes amid rising anti-Asian sentiment on campus since a 1983 stabbing incident.
- Newsmakers, page 6. This roundup covers various Japanese American achievers including Sen. Spark Matsunaga receiving a dairy industry honor, Henry Der’s appointment to the California Postsecondary Education Commission, and Rev. Gyomay Kubose and Frank Sugano receiving the Order of the Sacred Treasure from Japan. Also noted are Eddie Morishima’s powerlifting championship win and Denise Yamada’s new co-anchor position in San Diego.
- English Teachers Wanted by JET, page 6. The Consulate General of Japan in Los Angeles announced the second year of the JET Program, expanding English teaching positions in Japan to approximately 1,300 total instructors. Applications are due Dec. 20, 1987 for the one-year program beginning August 1988.
Commentary
- Universal Voter Registration Act, page 4. This editorial praises JACL and JACL-LEC’s support for the Universal Voter Registration Act, recalling WWII-era attempts to strip Japanese Americans of voting rights through lawsuits by the Native Sons of the Golden West and others. It details the historical 1942 legal battles over Nisei citizenship and voting rights that were ultimately defeated in federal court.
- The JACL Motto, by Bill Marutani, page 4. Columnist Bill Marutani discusses the growing cooperation among Asian American bar associations across the country, highlighting organizations like the Asian Bar Association of Sacramento and the Asian/Pacific Bar of California. He notes efforts toward a national conference of Asian American lawyers, tying it to the JACL motto ‘Security Through Unity.’
- Debunking the Fairy-Tale of WW2 Internment, by Frank Chin, page 4. Frank Chin criticizes Mike Masaoka and the JACL’s wartime leadership, arguing that the organization suppressed dissent and branded draft resisters like Mits Koshiyama as troublemakers. The piece argues that the true history of Japanese American resistance to internment has been obscured by JACL’s dominant narrative.
- Fair Practices Needed, by Teresa Maebori, page 5. A letter from the JACL Nominations Chair criticizes the premature announcement of presidential candidates’ platforms in the Pacific Citizen before official filing procedures were established. The author calls for fair and orderly campaign practices with proper guidelines to ensure equitable elections for all JACL candidates.
- Is JACL Relevant?, by Eji Suyama, page 5. A letter questioning JACL’s relevance, criticizing the National Board’s decision to table action supporting PLO sympathizers in Los Angeles out of concern for redress legislation. The author compares this to JACL’s 1942 decision to support government internment policies against opposition from its own regional leaders.
- Destroying the Stereotypes, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Columnist Bill Hosokawa highlights notable Japanese Americans including massive-scale farmers Albert Wada and Bob Sakata, and profiles Kenneth Ulston, a mathematical genius and renowned blackjack player who challenged casino discrimination in court. He concludes that stereotypes of Japanese Americans as dull are entirely unfounded given such diverse achievements.
Incarceration & Redress
- Facing the Truth of Relocation, page 5. A Fresno Bee editorial discusses the Smithsonian’s ‘A More Perfect Union’ exhibit, noting its particular relevance to Fresno, which hosted assembly centers for Japanese Americans before their internment. The piece praises the exhibit’s unflinching, non-angry presentation of this dark chapter including documented violence against returning evacuees.
- Karma and the Press, by Marshall Sumida and Joe Oyama, page 5. This first part of a series examines how the Los Angeles Times and journalist Kyle Palmer (writing as Thomas B. Drake) campaigned for the forced removal of Japanese Americans from the West Coast using ‘military necessity’ as justification. The piece argues the press wielded disproportionate power in shaping government policy that violated civil rights.
Arts & Entertainment
- 170 Galleries to Show Artwork, page 9. ART/LA87, the second international contemporary art fair, will be held Dec. 10-14 at the LA Convention Center featuring work by artists including Nam June Paik, Richard Diebenkorn, and Jasper Johns. The event includes a gala benefit preview hosted by LACMA and MOCA on Dec. 9.
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