Redress paperwork help, Rep. Matsui’s account, and the Rohwer Memorial

Vol. 110, No. 8, March 2, 1990. 9 pages. View this issue

Redress was the main news of this nine-page issue. JACL regional directors met with Robert Bratt of the Office of Redress Administration about how JACL offices could help eligible people with documentation, and ORA planned bilingual materials and a toll-free assistance line. Harry K. Honda reported on Rep. Robert Matsui’s talk at the Santa Barbara JACL installation, where he explained how the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 moved through the House and Senate. The National JACL Board also voted $2,500 in seed money to restore monuments at the Rohwer Memorial Cemetery, and Bill Hosokawa wrote that the Aleuts deserved to be first in line for their payments.

Elsewhere, letters debated credit for the Salinas Assembly Center monument, and Asian American advocates raised concerns about college admission policies. Features covered the 1904 founding of the Yamato Colony in Florida and an Oakland Museum exhibit on Japanese American women. The Japanese government honored Rosalyn Tonai and Hideo Del Tanabe.

What’s in this issue

JACL

• JACL Offers to Assist Potential Redress Recipients in Paperwork, page 1. JACL regional directors met with Robert Bratt, chief administrator of the Office of Redress Administration, to discuss how JACL offices nationwide can help redress-eligible individuals with documentation and paperwork. ORA plans to provide bilingual materials and re-establish a toll-free assistance line to help streamline the eligibility process.’
• Nat’l JACL Votes $2,500 Seed Money for Rohwer Memorial, page 1. The National JACL Board endorsed the Midwest District’s Rohwer Project, voting $2,500 in seed money toward the $40,000 needed to restore monuments at the Rohwer Memorial Cemetery, the last tangible remnant of the former Rohwer Relocation Camp. Project coordinator George Sakaguchi is seeking volunteers and fund drive representatives from former Rohwer and Jerome camp internees.

Incarceration & Redress

• Rep. Matsui Relates Why Redress Bill Succeeded Despite Budget Cutbacks, by Harry K. Honda, page 1. At the Santa Barbara JACL installation dinner, Rep. Robert Matsui explained the legislative history behind the success of H.R. 442, crediting Rep. Barney Frank for moving the bill out of committee and describing the emotional House vote on Sept. 17, 1987. He also recounted Sen. Spark Matsunaga’s effort to secure Senate co-sponsors, leading to passage and President Reagan’s signing of the bill in August 1988.
• Min Yasui Memorial, by Violet K. de Cristoforo, page 5. Former members of the Salinas Valley Chapter Redress Committee made a contribution to the Minoru Yasui Memorial Fund in appreciation of his support for their redress campaign. The letter recounts Yasui’s participation in the Kinenhi dedication and other community events despite his illness.

National

• Asian Americans for Affirmative Action Concerned: College Admission Policies Scrutinized, page 1. A team of Asian American civil rights advocates and educators, organized by JACL’s Washington Office, met with government officials, civil rights groups, and press to raise concerns about university admissions policies that discriminate against Asian and Pacific Americans. The briefings addressed pending compliance reviews at UCLA and Harvard and generated positive press coverage, including a column by Washington Post writer William Raspberry.
• Capitol Hill Internships, page 5. The Democratic National Committee launched the Democratic Asian Pacific Internship Program to place young Asian Pacific Americans in Democratic offices on Capitol Hill for summer 1990. Interested students or recent graduates were directed to send resumes and availability information to program coordinator Sharon Yanagi.
• Korean Congregations Perk United Methodists, page 5. A United Methodist bishop reported that more than half of the denomination’s new congregations established since 1981 are Korean, offering a potential model to reverse declining church membership. The remarks were made at a meeting in Nashville, Tennessee.

Community

• PSWDC Recognitions Luncheon Set for March 4, page 1. The JACL Pacific Southwest District is sponsoring a Second Biennial Recognitions Luncheon on March 4 at the Lawry’s California Center to honor JACLers who contributed to the organization at chapter and district levels. Awards to be presented include Distinguished Chapter, Special Achievement, Distinguished Service, and Lifetime Achievement awards.
• County Supervisor Miyoshi Seeks Third Term, page 1. Santa Barbara County Supervisor Toru Miyoshi will face two opponents, Tom Urbanske and Mike Stoker, in the June 5 primary for his 5th District seat. Miyoshi, a past JACL chapter president and USC graduate, previously served on the Santa Maria City Council in the 1970s.
• 54 Asian Americans Elected to Chicago School Units Feted, page 1. The Commission on Asian American Affairs and the Asian American Educators Association hosted a dinner in Chinatown to honor 34 Asian American members of Chicago’s local school councils. New Board of Education Superintendent Ted Kimbrough congratulated the more than 400 attendees for their participation in education and the school system.
• Growing Asian American Community Being Targeted Anew in Marketing Studies, page 2. Marketing experts note that the U.S. Asian population has grown significantly and outstrips other groups in median family income, prompting increased interest from advertisers like Metropolitan Life and Bank of America. Despite this growth, spending on advertising targeted to Asian Americans remains small, with some companies hesitant to relinquish marketing control to specialized agencies.
• Canal High ’90 Reunion Scheduled in Oakland, page 3. The Canal High 90 Reunion Committee is planning a weekend of activities in Oakland including a golf tournament, hospitality room, and dinner-dance for former Canalites to reconnect. Organizers are preparing an innovative reunion booklet containing anecdotes and reflections from attendees.
• Santa Barbara Cabinet Installed, page 4. Harry Kajihara installed the new Santa Barbara JACL cabinet, led by chapter president Mike Hide serving his 15th consecutive term. PSWDC Gov. J.D. Hokoyama discussed JACL’s future direction now that redress has passed, with a district retreat scheduled for March 24-25 at Dana Point.
• Hideo Del Tanabe Honored by Japanese Government, page 7. Hideo Del Tanabe of Puyallup, Wash., was honored by the Japanese government with the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Silver Rays, presented by Consul General Shinsuke Hirai. Tanabe was a longtime community leader in the Tacoma area, having served with organizations including the Puyallup Valley JACL and Tacoma Buddhist Church.

Arts & Entertainment

• NJAHS’s ‘Strength and Diversity’: History of JA Women on Display at Oakland Museum, page 2. The Oakland Museum is hosting the first exhibition tracing the history of Japanese American women, organized by the National Japanese American Historical Society, running through May 13. The exhibit uses photographs, artifacts and oral histories to document three generations of Issei, Nisei, and Sansei women through immigration, wartime relocation, and cultural change.
• Beulah Quo to Be Honored by Colleagues in Film Production Industry, page 2. The Association of Asian Pacific American Artists will present veteran actress Beulah Quo with its Lifetime Achievement Award at the Sixth Annual Jimmie Awards Dinner at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The Jimmie Awards recognize entertainment companies that depict Asian/Pacific Americans realistically and expand career opportunities in the industry.
• NAATA International Film Showcase on Wednesdays in March to Premiere Estelle Ishigo Documentary, page 3. The National Asian American Telecommunications Association’s 1990 Asian American International Film Showcase will run four consecutive Wednesdays in March at the AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, premiering Steven Okazaki’s documentary Days of Waiting about artist Estelle Peck Ishigo. The festival will also screen numerous other films exploring Asian American identity.
• Month-long Japanese Traditional Arts Seminar in Kyoto Offered by Oomoto Foundation Starts June 8, page 3. The Oomoto Foundation is offering a month-long seminar in Kyoto on traditional Japanese arts including tea ceremony, calligraphy, and pottery, taught by master teachers with English-speaking translators. The seminar runs through July and costs $1,900 for the full course.
• Tritia Toyota to Moderate ‘Meet Your Judges’ Forum, page 3. KCBS-TV anchorwoman Tritia Toyota will moderate an open forum called ‘Meet Your Judges’ at the Wilshire Ebell Theater, giving the public access to local judiciary including the Los Angeles Municipal Court Presiding Judge and a California Supreme Court Justice. Toyota currently anchors Action News at Noon and Action News at 6 p.m.

Commentary

• Bob Matsui’s Campaign in 1992, by P.C. Staff, page 4. This editorial discusses Rep. Bob Matsui’s potential 1992 Senate campaign to succeed Alan Cranston, noting Matsui’s strong record and popularity in his Sacramento-area district. The piece argues that Matsui’s racial background should not be a factor in a statewide race, citing precedents set by Norman Mineta and S.I. Hayakawa.
• Sayonara, Habu, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. In this From the Frying Pan column, Bill Hosokawa reflects on the retirement of the SR-71 ‘Blackbird’ spy plane, known as ‘Habu’ to military personnel in Okinawa where he was stationed. He recounts memories of the aircraft and muses on the end of an era shaped by Cold War defense priorities.
• Aleuts Deserve to be First in Line, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Hosokawa describes the harsh treatment of Aleuts who were forcibly removed from their homes during WWII, with their villages burned and residents dumped into unsuitable canneries, resulting in high death rates. He argues the Aleuts, included almost as an afterthought in redress legislation, deserve priority in receiving their redress payments given their suffering.
• de Cristoforo Slighted II, by Mary Otto, page 4. A letter to the editor corrects the record regarding credit for the Salinas Assembly Center monument (Kinenhi), stating that Violet Kazue de Cristoforo spearheaded the project as chair of the Kinenhi Committee starting in 1982. The monument was dedicated on Day of Remembrance, Feb. 19, 1984, at Sherwood Park in Salinas.
• de Cristoforo Slighted III, by Kenichi Bunden, page 5. A letter from a former Salinas Valley JACL board member reaffirms that Violet de Cristoforo’s leadership was central to completing the Kinenhi monument project, dedicated Feb. 19, 1982, with support from city officials and neighboring JACL chapters. The writer emphasizes that credit should go to those who earned it, criticizing any confusion of the record.
• A Case of Koro?, by Eiji Suyama, page 5. In this letter, the writer questions Barry Saiki’s motives in criticizing former P.C. editor Karen Seriguchi over publication of Professor Kessler’s research on camp newspapers. Suyama defends Seriguchi and criticizes Bill Hosokawa’s and Saiki’s historical stance on camp draft resisters as failing to hold up to modern scholarly analysis.
• Saiki’s Response, by Barry Saiki, page 5. Barry Saiki responds to criticism, apologizing to Karen Seriguchi for assumptions made about staff changes at P.C., while defending his objection to Professor Kessler’s research methods for not seeking primary sources. He argues that historical analysis of internment camp newspapers should be grounded in first-hand verification rather than presumption.

In-Depth

• Planted in Good Soil: In 1904, Florida Railroad Attracted Issei to Grow Winter Crops at Yamato, by Masakazu Iwata, page 5. This historical excerpt details the founding of the Yamato Colony in Florida in 1904, when Japanese immigrants were recruited by the Florida East Coast Railroad to grow winter vegetables and pineapples. The piece traces the colony’s growth, struggles with soil and marketing, and eventual decline as land values rose and residents departed, along with the story of a related Japanese colony in Middleburg, Florida.

Obituaries

• Wallace Y. Matsumoto, 74, Banker, page 7. Wallace Y. Matsumoto, a Maui-born UCLA graduate and founder of what is now Central Pacific Bank, died while vacationing in Japan on Feb. 9. He served on the bank’s board of directors for more than 30 years.
• James M. Nakano, 68, Expert on Smallpox, page 7. James M. Nakano, a leader in smallpox eradication efforts at the Centers for Disease Control, died in Atlanta on Feb. 9. He joined CDC in 1959, established the smallpox lab in the 1960s to support WHO’s eradication program, and developed rapid diagnostic procedures used worldwide.
• Peter I. Ohtaki, 68, Air Travel Pioneer, page 7. Peter I. Ohtaki, a pioneer in Japan Airlines operations, died in Honolulu on Jan. 8. He worked with Northwest Airlines and later established JAL offices in Seattle, Portland, and San Jose, helping launch JAL’s service in the Pacific Northwest region.

Military & Veterans

• Rosalyn Tonai Honored for Furthering US-Japan Relations, page 7. Rosalyn Tonai, executive director of the National Japanese American Historical Society, was honored by the Japanese government for furthering relations between the United States and Japan. Consul General Shinsuke Hirai presented her with the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Silver Rays.

Thank you for exploring the Pacific Citizen archive. The title, introduction and contents on this page were written by an AI model from scans of the printed issue, so they may contain mistakes. If you spot one, we would be grateful if you let us know.