Draft resisters, TV whitewashing and hate crimes in the news

Vol. 129, No. 10, September 3, 1999. 8 pages. View this issue

Two stories led this eight-page issue. Martha Nakagawa reported that the Central California District Council of JACL voted 9-3-3 to reject a national resolution apologizing to Heart Mountain draft resisters of conscience. Columns by Fred Oshima and Brian Nilya and a page of readers’ letters carried the debate further. Steven Tanamachi reported on an electronic statement, circulated by Mayeda, that asked television networks to cast and hire more minorities. Over 500 people had responded within a week.

Also inside: coverage of hate crimes, including the death of postal worker Joseph Ileto, a hate crime symposium that national JACL planned to attend, and a new California panel on hate groups. Community pages report about $263,000 raised in Silicon Valley for the National Japanese American Memorial, a JACL awards dinner honoring Norman Y. Mineta, and Eden Township JACL scholarships. A news item covers the resignation of Toys R Us CEO Michael Nakasone.

What’s in this issue

National

• TV ‘Whitewashing’ Concern on the Rise, by Steven Tanamachi, page 1. Advocates including Guy Aoki’s Mayeda circulated an electronic statement criticizing television networks for the lack of minority representation, gathering over 500 responses within a week. The statement demanded that networks cast more ethnic minority actors in non-stereotyped roles and hire more diverse staff, citing studies on how TV portrayals affect children’s perceptions of race.
• Toys R Us CEO Nakasone Resigns, by Associated Press, page 1. Toys R Us Inc. announced the resignation of CEO Michael Nakasone, a Japanese American who grew up in California’s San Fernando Valley and rose through the company to become president in 1995. Under his leadership the company expanded internationally, but the resignation came amid the company’s struggle to compete with discount retailer Wal-Mart and ongoing store renovations.
• CCDC Rejects Nat’l JACL’s Reconciliation Resolution With Resisters of Conscience, by Martha Nakagawa, page 1. The Central California District Council (CCDC) of JACL voted 9-3-3 to reject a national JACL resolution that would have apologized to Heart Mountain draft resisters of conscience for not recognizing their principled wartime stand. The rejection effectively kills the resolution, which requires unanimous approval from all eight JACL districts, with debate centering on whether wartime constitutional rights issues justify an apology decades later.
• APAs Unite Nationally to Condemn Hate Crimes, Mourn Death of Ileto, page 1. Asian Pacific American groups nationwide gathered to condemn recent hate crimes, including the killing of postal worker Joseph Ileto and two South Asian immigrants killed at a Dunkin Donuts. Leaders including Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa and representatives from Jewish and Asian civil rights organizations spoke at the event calling for unity against bigotry.
• Nat’l JACL Will Attend Hate Crime Symposium, by P.C. Staff, page 3. National JACL will participate in a hate crimes symposium organized by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District, bringing together investigators, prosecutors and community leaders from Jasper, Texas, Laramie, Wyo., and Littleton, Colo. Attorney General Janet Reno is expected to open the symposium addressing the recent rise in hate-motivated violence.
• Intelligence Officer Quits, Attacks IG Report, by Associated Press, page 3. Notra Trulock, an Energy Department intelligence official who raised suspicions of Chinese espionage at Los Alamos National Laboratory, resigned after an internal report failed to support his allegations. The physicist he accused, a U.S. citizen, has denied espionage allegations and has not been charged with any crime, while several Energy Department employees have filed discrimination complaints against Trulock.
• California Gov. Davis Announces Panel to Combat ‘Hate Groups’, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Governor Gray Davis named former Governor Deukmejian and former Secretary of State Christopher to head a new panel studying ways to combat hate groups in California within constitutional limits. Davis stated that the proliferation of hate groups threatens the state’s ideals and announced that the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) also provides resources to combat discrimination.
• TV ‘Whitewashing’ on Rise (continued coverage), by Steven Tanamachi, page 8. The article continues coverage of the campaign against television networks’ lack of diversity, quoting actors George Takei and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa on the importance of authentic representation for Asian Americans on screen. It also details an NAACP-led meeting of over 15 minority organizations, including JACL, East West Players and OCA, that convened to discuss strategies for pressuring networks to diversify casting.
• Toys R Us CEO Resigns (continued), by Associated Press, page 8. Continuing coverage details that Toys R Us has hired executive recruitment firm Levy/Kerson to find Nakasone’s replacement while the company continues major store renovations. The company, which operates over 1,400 stores worldwide including Kids R Us and Babies R Us locations, has been losing ground to discount retailer Wal-Mart.

Community

• New Book on UCLA’s Historical Treasure: Japanese American Research Project Collection, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The UCLA Asian American Studies Center announced the release of ‘A Buried Past II,’ a new book documenting the extensive historical Japanese American Research Project (JARP) Collection. The collection includes art works created during WWII incarceration and has expanded to include other collections such as the Steve Louie Asian American Movement Collection.
• Silicon Valley Holds Fund-raiser for NJAMF, by Judy Niizawa, page 4. Nearly 400 people attended a fund-raising event in San Jose that raised approximately $263,000 for the National Japanese American Memorial to be built in Washington, D.C. Foundation members and dignitaries from across the country attended, including Norman Mineta, and the event featured a color guard ceremony honoring veterans from four wars.
• JACL Awards Dinner Honors Community, Organization, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A JACL awards dinner honored former U.S. Commerce Secretary Norman Y. Mineta and other community figures for their contributions to civil rights and the Japanese American community. Judge Robert Takasugi and others gave testimonials at the event.
• Eden Township JACL Awards Scholarships, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Eden Township JACL presented its 1999 scholarship awards at a dinner, honoring several students from area high schools with chapter and community-based scholarships. Recipients included students recognized for academic achievement and extracurricular involvement.
• Nisei Week Japanese Festival Dates Announced for 2000, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The 60th annual Nisei Week Japanese Festival will be held July 29 through August 6, 2000. Details of the festival’s activities and venues were announced as part of ongoing community planning.

Commentary

• JACL and the Resisters of Conscience, by Fred Oshima, page 5. The columnist criticizes the push for JACL to formally apologize to draft resisters, calling it a divisive distraction that splinters the organization and diverts resources from more pressing community needs. He argues JACL’s leadership has drifted too far left, alienating the moderate majority of Japanese Americans and neglecting core community priorities in favor of unrelated international issues.
• CCDC Resolution Debate Continued: Resisters, by Martha Nakagawa, page 5. Continuing coverage of the CCDC vote details individual testimonies, including Taniguchi’s recollection of wartime pressures at the Gila camp and Dale Ikeda’s call for a joint resolution between JACL and Heart Mountain resisters to reconcile and heal old wounds. The final vote saw six chapters supporting rejection of the apology resolution and others in varying positions, reflecting deep community division on the issue.
• Troubled in Paradise, page 6. The columnist recounts a trip to Lima, Peru, for the PANA-Chile convention, describing conversations with young Peruvians about President Alberto Fujimori’s legacy as the first person of Japanese ancestry elected president of a nation. The piece also touches on plans for the upcoming PANA International convention (XI COPANI) to be held in New York in 2001.
• The Apology, by Brian Nilya, page 6. Nilya reflects on his mixed feelings about JACL apologizing to draft resisters, acknowledging that resisters were unfairly ostracized by Japanese America for decades while noting that many JACL members, including WWII veterans, still hold resentment toward them. He argues that reconciling with resisters should focus on future understanding through continued historical research rather than seeking validation from those unwilling to change.
• Letters: A Response to Frank Chin’s Editorial and Reflections on the War Years, by Various Letter Writers, page 7. Several readers respond to prior columns on the draft resisters controversy, with some referencing Lincoln’s call for ‘malice toward none, with charity for all’ and urging compassion and forgiveness for all wartime choices. Other letters, including one from a Heart Mountain volunteer and a Nisei veteran, defend the volunteers’ service record and argue that demanding apologies between factions is unrealistic and distracts from more pressing modern concerns.

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