Hate crimes bill hearing, civil rights, and the Day of Remembrance

Vol. 100, No. 13, April 5, 1985. 12 pages. View this issue

A congressional hearing on HR 1171 led the front page. The bill would require the FBI to collect statistics on crimes motivated by racial, ethnic or religious bigotry. Rep. Norman Mineta supported it, and Reagan Administration officials opposed it. The Pacific Citizen also reported on the U.S. Civil Rights Commission under Clarence Pendleton Jr., and on the Pacific Southwest District JACL conference, where Tritia Toyota and JACL President Frank Sato spoke. Robert Shimabukuro wrote a two-part look back at the Day of Remembrance and the redress campaign.

Other pages include Bill Marutani on his time at Tule Lake, a review of Velina Hasu Houston’s play Tea, and Haing S. Ngor’s Academy Award for The Killing Fields. Readers also wrote letters on redress and on John J. McCloy, and Sen. Pete Wilson’s views on redress appeared on the last page.

What’s in this issue

National

• Bill to Monitor ‘Hate Crimes’ Heard, Government Opposed, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Rep. Norman Mineta testified before a House subcommittee in support of HR 1171, a bill requiring the FBI to collect statistics on crimes motivated by racial, ethnic or religious bigotry, while Reagan Administration officials opposed the measure. Mineta cited the Vincent Chin case and the murder of journalist Henry Liu as examples of the need for such tracking.
• Civil Rights Commission Under Fire, by J.K. Yamamoto, page 1. The U.S. Civil Rights Commission, chaired by Reagan appointee Clarence Pendleton Jr., has drawn criticism from minority and women’s organizations for opposing affirmative action and boycotting commission hearings. Pendleton’s comments against black leaders and his support for a ‘color blind’ society have sparked wide debate about the commission’s role and future.
• Civil Rights Commission Conflict Part of Larger Trend, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Continuing coverage details the boycott of Civil Rights Commission hearings by major civil rights organizations and conflicting testimony from economists and policy experts on affirmative action. The article outlines several other Reagan Administration actions rolling back civil rights enforcement, including changes to HUD data collection and the Grove City Supreme Court decision.

JACL

• Toyota Urges Continued Activism, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Television journalist Tritia Toyota, keynote speaker at the Pacific Southwest District JACL conference, urged Asian Americans to make civil rights activism a lifelong commitment rather than a passing concern. She warned against complacency despite recent gains and stressed the need to develop communication skills and broader community involvement.
• Asian Coalition Awards Mineta, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Asian Pacific American Advocates of California presented Rep. Norman Mineta with its 1984 ‘Asian Pacific American of the Year’ award at its annual banquet in Fresno. Mineta urged the organization to continue monitoring and tracking incidents of violence against Asian Pacific Americans.
• PANA Convention Travel Details Released, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Details were released for the 3rd Pan American Nikkei Association convention set for July 25-28 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with travel arrangements coordinated through designated agencies. Special programs are planned for youth, Issei, and 442nd veterans, including meetings with Brazilian Expeditionary Force veterans who fought alongside the 442nd in Italy.
• Support for Health Fairs Available, by Lia Shigemura, page 7. National JACL is offering partial funding and materials to chapters sponsoring minority health fairs through a grant from Chevron USA. Several chapters including Marina, Venice-Culver, Monterey Peninsula, Portland, San Francisco and Clovis have already committed to hosting fairs in 1985.
• ‘Quit Sidelines and Play Hard,’ Urges JACL President Sato, by Elizabeth Lu, page 10. National JACL President Frank Sato told the Pacific Southwest District conference that Asian Americans must become major players rather than spectators in positions of leadership and power. He called for identifying individuals who can fill policy positions and urged attendees to commit to specific JACL projects.

Arts & Entertainment

• Southeast Asian Doctor Wins Oscar for ‘Killing Fields’, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Haing S. Ngor, a Cambodian doctor with no prior acting experience, won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Dith Pran in ‘The Killing Fields.’ Ngor drew on his own experiences surviving the Khmer Rouge regime, beating out Nisei actor Pat Morita who was nominated for ‘The Karate Kid.’
• ‘Dream of Kitamura’ Enjoying High-Powered East Coast Production, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Philip Gotanda’s play ‘Dream of Kitamura’ made its East Coast debut in New York, featuring set design input from artist Isamu Noguchi and direction by former Martha Graham dancer Jean Erdman. The play, about a warlord haunted by nightmares of his crimes, has previously been staged in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle to acclaim.
• Houston’s ‘Tea’: Powerful Learning Experience, by Jane B. Kaihatsu, page 5. Playwright Velina Hasu Houston’s play ‘Tea,’ performed at the Asian American Theater Company in San Francisco, portrays five Japanese war brides reuniting after one’s suicide to confront their divergent lives and experiences in America. The reviewer reflects on her own encounters with war brides growing up and praises the play for finally bringing their stories to the Japanese American community’s attention.

Community

• Group Combating Racial Violence, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Davis Asians for Racial Equality (DARE) held a community meeting in Davis, California to address a pattern of anti-Asian violence including the stabbing death of a student and other incidents. Speakers described findings from statewide hearings showing racially motivated school violence against Asian students cuts across all demographic lines.
• Organizing Peace Conference Slated, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A conference titled ‘Intervention and Nuclear Threat: The Human Response’ is scheduled for late April in Eugene, Oregon, marking the tenth anniversary of the end of American intervention in Vietnam. Poet Janice Mirikitani and activist Stan Shikuma are among the participants exploring militarism and nuclear threat.
• Special Ferry Service to Exhibit Arranged, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A special ferry service to Angel Island will accommodate visitors to a photo exhibit documenting a century of Japanese immigration, opening April 20 and produced by Go For Broke, Inc. Rep. Norman Mineta will serve as keynote speaker at the dedication ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Hawaii.
• Del Rey Reunion to Be Held Next Week, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A reunion gathering all generations of Japanese Americans connected to the Del Rey, California community is set for April 13-14 at the Fresno Ramada Inn and the historic Del Rey Japanese Community Hall. Del Rey once had one of the largest Japantowns in California’s Central Valley.
• Civil Rights Leaders Call for Inter-Ethnic Unity, by Robert Shimabukuro, page 11. A panel at the PSW Conference featuring leaders from the Anti-Defamation League, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and MALDEF discussed barriers to inter-ethnic cooperation, including media emphasis on differences and group ethnocentrism. Panelists called for shared organizing around common issues like South Africa and immigration, and praised JACL for hosting the dialogue.
• DARE Continued: Group Combats Racial Violence in Davis, by P.C. Staff, page 12. This continuation details DARE’s efforts including incident reporting forms, collaboration with Davis police, and a presentation by Forrest Gok on Asian stereotypes in media. The group urges residents to document all racial incidents to build a case for addressing ongoing discrimination against Asian Americans.

Commentary

• A Matter of Ohn, by Bill Marutani, page 4. Columnist Bill Marutani recalls his own wartime incarceration experience, moving from Tule Lake to study in South Dakota thanks to the American Friends Service Committee’s efforts to help young Nisei continue their education. He praises the Nisei Student Relocation Commemorative Fund for honoring that legacy by making grants to Southeast Asian refugee students today.
• Letters to the Editor, by Ken Nakano, Patti Adachi, page 4. Readers write in praising the Pacific Citizen’s new editorship and coverage, including a letter describing how a PC article helped reunite two hibakusha survivors after 40 years. Another reader praises the paper’s coverage of anti-apartheid issues and Asian immigrant communities.
• Ethnic Pride: Italians vs. JAs, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Columnist Bill Hosokawa compares media treatment of Italian American basketball coaches Jim Valvano and Lou Carnesecca, who are celebrated for their ethnic heritage, with how Japanese American coaches might be treated differently. He raises questions about double standards in how ethnicity is portrayed positively or negatively depending on the group.
• Asian and Latin Immigration Trends Reshape U.S. Economy, by Dr. Frank Nishio, page 5. Dr. Frank Nishio examines data showing dramatic growth in Asian and Hispanic immigrant populations and economic ties between the U.S. and Pacific Rim nations during the past decade. He notes that this economic shift has sometimes led to backlash and violence against Asian Americans, citing the Vincent Chin case as an example.
• Letters: FDR Bore Most Responsibility for Internment, by Michael K. Hataye, page 8. A reader argues that President Roosevelt, not John J. McCloy, bears primary responsibility for the decision to incarcerate Japanese Americans, citing evidence that Japanese Americans may have been intended as hostages for prisoner exchanges. He references research by Michi Weglyn and documents showing pre-war military planning related to Japanese American communities.
• Letters: McCloy Honored?, by Eliot Sharp, page 8. A reader expresses outrage that John J. McCloy, who directed the removal of Japanese Americans to concentration camps, was honored by Congress and invited to lunch with President Reagan. The letter argues McCloy mischaracterized the camps as compassionate while apparently avoiding the harshest camp, Tule Lake.
• Letters: Visibility All-Important, by Violet K. deCristoforo, page 8. The Salinas Valley JACL Redress Chair describes the 43rd anniversary Day of Remembrance ceremony at the Salinas Assembly Center and the committee’s efforts to maintain high visibility through media coverage, editorials, and community outreach. She emphasizes that media exposure is essential to building public support for redress legislation.
• Letters: Loses Respect, by Ken Hayashi, page 8. A reader expresses disappointment in community leader Yori Wada for reportedly opposing monetary redress, arguing this view damages JACL’s long struggle for a meaningful redress bill. The letter challenges Wada’s reported belief that no crime was committed by the government’s wartime internment order.
• Trade Trends and Asian American Impact Continued, by Dr. Frank Nishio, page 9. This continuation piece details economic data on Asian and Latin American GNP growth and lists speakers for an upcoming workshop on Pacific Rim economic and political impacts. The panel includes experts discussing U.S.-Japan trade relations, China, and Southeast Asian economies.
• Asians May Be Hampered by Others’ Rules, by Elizabeth Lu, page 11. At a JACL workshop on Asian culture and identity, anthropologist Karen Ishizuka and psychiatrist Edward Himeno discussed how Asian Americans often judge themselves by borrowed, non-Asian standards of beauty and achievement. Panelists and participants, including San Fernando Valley JACL’s Phil Shigekuni, discussed the difficulty of developing positive self-identity and the need for more male participation in such dialogues.

Incarceration & Redress

• Days of Remembrance: A Call for Action, by Robert Shimabukuro, page 4. This retrospective traces the origins of the Day of Remembrance commemorations back to a 1978 media event organized by Frank Chin, Frank Abe and Kathy Wong in Seattle, which grew into a nationwide movement of proclamations and ceremonies. The piece interviews early organizers including Peggy Nagae, Frank Abe, and Carole Hayashino about the lasting impact of these events on the redress campaign.
• DOR: Momentum Lost, Call for Creative Disorder, by Robert Shimabukuro, page 9. This continuation of the Day of Remembrance retrospective critiques JACL’s redress strategy, arguing that bureaucratic caution and rejected creative proposals like burning a replica guard tower have drained enthusiasm from the movement. The author proposes a conference of artists, organizers and media professionals to develop a renewed, inspired national campaign for redress.
• Senator Prefers Memorial Fund to Individual Redress, by P.C. Staff, page 12. Sen. Pete Wilson wrote to JACL Pacific Southwest district governor Harry Kajihara stating his opposition to blanket financial compensation for Japanese Americans interned during World War II. Wilson suggested a memorial fund, museum, or scholarship fund would be more appropriate than individual monetary redress.

Obituaries

• Richard Shinichiro Kitasoe Dies at 61, by P.C. Staff, page 10. Richard Shinichiro Kitasoe of Redwood City, California, a member of Sequoia JACL, died March 19 at Sequoia Hospital. He is survived by his wife Kimie, sons Richard and Raymond, and other family members.

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