A Nisei’s diploma, 44 years late, and the push for redress

Vol. 102, No. 22, June 6, 1986. 8 pages. View this issue

Michi Ando of Denver was the only Japanese American to graduate from the University of Oregon in 1942, yet the wartime evacuation orders kept her from commencement. The front page told how UO archivist Keith Richard found her file and persuaded her to accept her diploma at this year’s ceremony. Inside, she recalls her family’s forced removal to Tule Lake. Redress ran through the issue: Gov. Booth Gardner wrote 48 governors, Gov. Michael Dukakis asked his state’s delegation to back H.R. 442, and a San Francisco dinner honored Nikkei members of Congress for their redress leadership.

Also inside: a Heart Mountain memorial to 22 soldiers killed in action, with Rep. Norman Mineta, Bill Hosokawa and Min Yasui among the guests. The paper covered the bilingual ballot survey in Los Angeles, Black-Asian tension in Philadelphia, and Japanese Americans joining Hands Across America through Little Tokyo. Joe Oyama’s West Wind column and a Pacific Citizen dispute with its landlord round out the issue.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• Nisei Will Receive College Diploma — 44 Years Later, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Michi Ando of Denver will finally receive her University of Oregon diploma 44 years after completing her requirements, as she was barred from the 1942 commencement due to wartime evacuation orders. UO archivist Keith Richard persuaded her to attend this year’s ceremony after discovering her file and years of correspondence to convince her to come.
• Governor Seeking Support for Redress, page 1. Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis asked his state’s congressional delegation to support H.R. 442 after Washington Gov. Booth Gardner sent letters to 48 governors urging support for redress legislation. Several states have already passed resolutions calling on Congress to pass the bills.
• Camp Memorial to Be Dedicated at Heart Mountain, page 2. The Heart Mountain High School class of 1947 and local homesteaders will dedicate a monument honoring 22 soldiers from the camp killed in WW2, coinciding with the site’s designation as a National Historic Place. Guests will include Rep. Norman Mineta, journalist Bill Hosokawa, and LEC chair Min Yasui, with tours of camp remnants and a hike planned.
• Graduate Recalls Family’s Forced Removal to Tule Lake, page 8. Continuing the front-page story, Michi Ando recalls running to the train tracks near the University of Oregon campus after learning her family was being transported to the Tule Lake camp. She will attend this year’s UO commencement as a guest with all expenses paid, joined by her children and grandchildren.

Military & Veterans

• Gone But Not Forgotten—Heart Mountain Memorial to Soldiers Killed in Action, page 1. A monument honoring soldiers from the Heart Mountain camp killed in action during WW2 is set to be dedicated this month. The camp site itself looms in the background of the photo accompanying the story.

Community

• Survey to Determine Future of Bilingual Ballots in Los Angeles, by J.K. Yamamoto, page 1. The Asian Pacific American Voters Coalition publicized a city survey asking voters whether they need bilingual voting materials, warning that low response could end the bilingual ballot program. Coalition members urged ethnic communities, including those fluent in English, to respond to ensure the survey’s results reflect actual need.
• Helping Hands—Japanese Americans Join Hands Across America, page 1. Japanese Americans of all generations participated in the May 25 ‘Hands Across America’ fundraiser for the homeless. The human chain stretched through Little Tokyo and Skid Row in Los Angeles as part of the larger nationwide line from New York to Long Beach.
• Chapter Pulse: Puyallup Valley, Fresno, Greater LA Singles, and More, page 4. Multiple JACL chapters report news including Puyallup Valley’s graduation banquet, Fresno’s scholarship award to Karen Nishimura, a Greater LA Singles benefit performance of ‘Rashomon,’ and Tri-Valley Chapter’s 1986 scholarship recipients Masaki Nakazono and Brett Takemoto. Golden Gate and NCWNP chapters also announced upcoming meetings related to the National Convention.
• Nikkei Take Part in Japan Conference, page 6. The Pan American Nikkei Assn. concept was well received at the 27th Overseas Japanese Assn. conference in Tokyo, attended by PANA co-founder Luis Yamakawa and PANA president Carlos Kasuga. The conference increasingly includes second-generation overseas Japanese rather than just pioneer Issei.

National

• Black-Asian Tension High in Philadelphia, page 1. A Powelton Village man was sentenced to prison for a 1984 group assault on a Hmong refugee, while a local rap song using anti-Chinese slurs gained popularity, highlighting ongoing Black-Asian community tensions in Philadelphia. City officials and community activists worked to address the fallout from both incidents.
• Program to Provide Help for Mail-Order, Servicemen’s Wives, page 3. The National Network of Asian and Pacific Women received a federal grant to develop support and education programs for disadvantaged Asian and Pacific Islander mail-order and military wives. The project will create multilingual materials addressing legal rights, resources, and cultural orientation for affected women.
• PC Partly Successful in Dispute, by Robert Shimabukuro, page 3. An arbitrator ruled that Pacific Citizen’s landlord, 941 Investment Co., owed $3,210.41 in actual damages for months without air conditioning in 1985, but rejected claims for staff suffering and lost productivity. PC business representative Henry Sakai said the paper ‘won the battle but lost the war’ in the dispute stemming from construction and permitting delays.
• Black-Asian Tension High in Philadelphia (continued), page 5. Further details describe the assault on Hmong refugee Seng Vang and the controversy over the rap song ‘The Discombobulatorbubalator,’ which used anti-Chinese slurs and was pulled from radio airplay after community complaints. Local activists expressed concern about continuing racial tensions despite education efforts.
• Ballots Survey Draws Response from Asian Community Leaders, page 8. Continuing coverage of the bilingual ballot survey includes comments from Korean American Coalition’s Charles Kim and Asian Pacific American Legal Center’s Stewart Kwoh on voter registration efforts in Los Angeles’s Asian communities. Organizers noted Japanese American voter registration rates lag behind other groups despite outreach efforts.

JACL

• Bay Area Dinner to Raise Funds for LEC, Pay Tribute to Nikkei Members of Congress, page 1. The Americans for Fairness Committee will hold a June 13 fundraiser in San Francisco honoring Sens. Inouye and Matsunaga and Reps. Mineta and Matsui for their redress legislation leadership. Proceeds will support JACL-LEC’s lobbying efforts for passage of S.1053 and H.R. 442.
• Mrs. Mineta Chairs Capital Event, page 2. May Mineta, wife of Rep. Norman Mineta, chaired the 78th annual Congressional Club luncheon honoring First Lady Nancy Reagan, attended by over 1,300 guests including Barbara Bush. The bipartisan event raised funds for charities including the Nancy Reagan Drug Abuse Fund and So Others Might Eat.

Commentary

• Songs That Touch the Heart, by Joe Oyama, page 4. In this West Wind column, the author recalls an Asian American women’s art exhibit opening in San Francisco featuring folk singer Sui Wei Anderson, a Chinese American adoptee who sang about her dual heritage and wartime experiences. The piece also recalls Pete Seeger performing for Nisei evacuees in New York decades earlier.
• LEC Update: Redress Media Efforts and Chapter Workshops, page 4. The LEC column details efforts to get the documentary ‘Visible Target,’ about Bainbridge Island’s Japanese American evacuation, aired on PBS stations nationwide, with various JACL chapters working to secure broadcast slots. It also previews upcoming redress workshops and fundraising events in New Jersey, Portland, and San Francisco.
• A High Profile, page 5. This column highlights Japanese Americans gaining visibility in Washington D.C., including May Mineta’s role chairing the First Lady’s luncheon and Congressman Norman Mineta’s profile in Washington Dossier magazine. It also notes Kaz Oshiki’s role as a trusted congressional aide and Glen Fukushima’s work on U.S.-Japan trade negotiations.

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