Vol. 115, No. 1, July 3, 1992. 12 pages. View this issue
JACL’s response to the Supreme Court’s June 22 decision in R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul led this 12-page issue. National director Dennis Hayashi said the ruling opens the door to constitutional attacks on all state hate crime statutes. Reps. Robert Matsui and Norman Mineta vowed it would not be the last word, and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s Peggy Nagae Lum voiced concern about similar laws elsewhere. Matsui also led House members in a letter urging that redress payments for 15,000 eligible people be treated as mandatory spending.
Other pages looked at Japan-bashing, from the Los Angeles transit contract dispute to a Garden Grove panel on hate crimes. Bill Hosokawa and Bill Marutani wrote columns, and Harry Honda described a Sacramento museum exhibit that includes a scale model of Manzanar. The 32nd national JACL convention in Denver, August 3-8, was previewed, and the paper announced its bi-monthly summer schedule.
What’s in this issue
National
- JACL Opposes High Court Ruling on Hate Crime, by P.C. Staff, page 1. JACL national director Dennis Hayashi criticized the Supreme Court’s June 22 decision in R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul, which struck down a St. Paul ordinance punishing cross-burning and hate speech on First Amendment grounds. Hayashi said the ruling opens the door to constitutional attacks on all state hate crime statutes and called it ironic given its timing near the anniversary of Vincent Chin’s murder.
- Mineta Criticizes Court Move on Abortion Rights, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Rep. Norman Mineta criticized a Supreme Court decision upholding restrictions on abortion in Pennsylvania, saying it reflects distrust of women to make their own decisions. Mineta is a sponsor of the Freedom of Choice Act, which would codify Roe v. Wade into law.
- Opposition Mounts to Court Ruling on Hate Crime, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Reps. Robert Matsui and Norman Mineta vowed the Supreme Court’s R.A.V. v. St. Paul decision would not be the final word on hate crime legislation, while the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s Peggy Nagae Lum expressed disappointment and concern about ordinances in other cities. Lum noted that all but four states have passed hate crime laws and worried about the effect of the ruling on similar statutes nationwide.
Incarceration & Redress
- Matsui Leads Move to Ensure Redress Payments, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Rep. Robert Matsui led a group of House members in sending a letter to the Office of Management and Budget urging that funding for 15,000 eligible but currently uncovered redress recipients be treated as mandatory entitlement spending rather than discretionary spending. The letter, co-signed by several congressmen, warned that requiring offsets from other federal programs jeopardizes continued redress funding and the Public Education Fund.
Community
- L.A. Transit Hassle: Jobs or Prejudice?, by Gwen Muranaka, page 1. Five months after the Sumitomo railcar bid controversy, Japanese Americans are questioning whether the L.A. County Transportation Commission’s decision to rebid the contract without requiring local jobs was about fairness or anti-Japanese sentiment. JACL regional director Jimmy Tokeshi and LACTC board member Mas Fukai suggested the episode reflected Japan-bashing, while Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky maintained cost and unproven technology were his real concerns.
- Panel on Hate Crimes and Japan-Bashing, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A forum on hate crimes and Japan-bashing was presented June 27 in Anaheim, Calif., sponsored by the Japanese American Lawyers Association, Japan Business Association, and Garden Grove Chapter JACL. Panelists including attorneys, a police chief, and a district attorney discussed rising hate crimes and increased Japan-bashing affecting the Nikkei community.
- ‘Good Soil’ Published, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The two-volume set ‘Planted in Good Soil’ by Dr. Masakazu Iwata, covering the agricultural history of Japanese in America, has come off the printers according to JACL-Japanese American Research Project chairman Shigeo Wakamatsu. The 1,000-page book will be available at the JACL National Convention in Denver in August, priced around ninety dollars.
- Helping Hands in Vincent Meeting, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Madeline Ong-Sakata of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance and Arizona Sen. Dennis DeConcini helped arrange a meeting between baseball commissioner Fay Vincent and Arizona JACL chapter representatives amid controversy over Japanese ownership of the Seattle Mariners. DeConcini contacted Vincent after being alerted to concerns by Ong-Sakata, leading to a meeting with JACL national director Dennis Hayashi and JACL president Cressey Nakagawa.
- Best and Brightest, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Mile-Hi JACL chapter’s scholarship program, which began as a single $50 award in 1956, has grown into $20,000 in scholarships awarded to graduating high school seniors from local individuals and organizations. Many awards are named as memorials, including one honoring former chapter president Harry Sakata, with numerous 1992 recipients listed.
- PC Begins Bi-Monthly Schedule, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Pacific Citizen announces it will publish on a bi-monthly schedule during July and August, with issues on July 8, July 17, July 31, and Aug. 14. The paper will resume its weekly schedule on Aug. 28.
JACL
- Convention Offers Plenty to See and Do, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Denver’s Mile-Hi JACL chapter is hosting the 32nd biennial national JACL convention August 3-8 at the Sheraton Denver Tech Center, offering sightseeing tours, a golf tournament, and a volleyball tournament alongside the business sessions. Tours include Rocky Mountain National Park, a Denver city tour, Vail, Colorado Springs, and the Coors brewery.
Arts & Entertainment
- Choreographer Named to East West Players Board, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Choreographer and dancer Adelle Yoshioka, a Sansei from San Diego, was appointed to the board of directors of the Los Angeles-based East West Players theatre group to encourage other Asian Americans in the arts. Yoshioka has worked with major entertainment figures including Bob Fosse and Gene Kelly, and is known for her role as Clint Eastwood’s girlfriend in ‘Magnum Force.’
- Primer Out on Asian Americans, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Asia Society has published ‘Asian Americans in Transition’ by Stanley Karnow and Nancy Yoshihara, examining issues facing one of the fastest-growing segments of the American population. The book stems from a three-day Los Angeles conference organized by Asia Society in October with leading Asian American groups.
- ‘Crisis’ Covers Pre-Pearl Harbor, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Allan Beekman’s book ‘Crisis: The Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor and Southeast Asia’ will be published August 1, exploring the private lives and biases of historic figures including Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, Chiang Kai-shek, Tojo, Hitler and Mussolini. The book examines events between the two World Wars that shaped their convictions.
- All Nippon Airways—First Class, First Rate, by Tyler Tanaka, page 12. Travel writer Tyler Tanaka recounts his first-class and business-class experiences flying All Nippon Airways to Japan, praising the airline’s high-tech seating, attentive service, and excellent Japanese cuisine. He contrasts the pristine, continually cleaned restrooms with other airlines and recommends ANA to travelers regardless of class of service.
Commentary
- Stereotype Slams Candidate S.B. Woo, by Bill Hosokawa, page 6. Bill Hosokawa discusses an editorial cartoon in the Wilmington News Journal that depicted Chinese American congressional candidate S.B. Woo raising money via the Great Wall of China, implying foreign influence. The newspaper’s ombudsman later acknowledged the cartoon’s insensitivity after consulting Asian American journalists, prompting Hosokawa to reflect on lingering perceptions that Asian Americans aren’t fully American.
- Gai-koku-jin, by Bill Marutani, page 6. Bill Marutani reflects on the meaning and sting of the Japanese term ‘gaijin’ (foreigner), recalling his own experience being labeled a foreigner at Haneda airport despite being an American. He also recounts discriminatory treatment at U.S.-Canada border crossings, arguing that immigration officers’ differential treatment based on race is an insult to American values.
- Internment History for All, Not Just Nikkei, by Phill Coleman, page 6. A reader argues that the history of Japanese American internment belongs to all Americans, not just Japanese Americans or their descendants, comparing it to how the history of slavery does not belong solely to African Americans. The writer contends that all citizens are vulnerable when a majority manipulates laws to strip a minority of constitutional protections.
- Don’t Blame Japan, Says GM Worker, by Constance Craig, page 6. A General Motors employee who grew up in the Crenshaw District describes her personal connections to Japanese American friends and culture growing up. She argues that blaming Japan or perpetuating WWII-era stereotypes to explain the country’s financial problems is an injustice to Japanese Americans and Japanese nationals.
- I Am Not Korean Is a Bad Attitude, by Wesley Tom, page 7. The writer expresses disturbance at reports that some non-Korean Asian Pacific Americans adopted an ‘I’m not Korean’ stance after the Los Angeles riots to avoid becoming targets of racial hatred. The letter compares this parochial attitude to historical instances when other Asians distanced themselves from Japanese Americans during WWII internment and from Southeast Asian refugees, urging greater solidarity among Asian Pacific communities.
In-Depth
- Sacramento Museum Exhibit Honors Japanese American History, by Harry Honda, page 7. Harry Honda writes about the Sacramento History Museum’s exhibit ‘Continuing Traditions: Japanese Americans, Story of a People: 1869-1992,’ which includes a scale model of the Manzanar WRA Center built by Vietnam veteran Bob Hasuike and a replica camp barrack interior. The exhibit, spearheaded by the late Henry Taketa’s research on the Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Colony, is supported by several JACL chapters and community organizations.
Obituaries
- Yamamoto, Nelson H., 26, North Torrance Deputy Sheriff Killed in Line of Duty, by P.C. Staff, page 9. Nelson H. Yamamoto, a 26-year-old Gardena-born Sansei deputy sheriff, died March 31 of gunshot wounds sustained in the line of duty at Walnut Park on March 29. He is survived by his parents Henry and Sylvia, siblings, and other family members.
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