Redress remembered: the 1997 UCLA conference and a scapegoating fight

Vol. 125, No. 6, September 19, 1997. 12 pages. View this issue

Redress was the main subject of this 12-page issue. Caroline Aoyagi reported on the “Voices of JA Redress” conference at UCLA, where more than 60 people from the decade-long campaign gathered to compare their views of the Civil Liberties Act story, with a continuation on page 9. Alongside it, Asian Pacific American groups filed a civil rights petition with the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights over scapegoating tied to the campaign finance controversy. Bob Sakaniwa, the Asian American journalists’ convention and a forum with Michael Woo also covered the topic.

Elsewhere, JACL announced its 1997 scholarship winners and a new $20,000 Kitayama trust with an Executive Order 9066 essay. Harry Honda wrote on the early history of offensive license plates, and the original MIS logo was retired. James Oda wrote on the Takeuchi Document, and Bill Hosokawa and Akemi Kavleng wrote on JACL’s recovery and fatigue.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

  • Key Players From Redress Movement Gather for Conference at UCLA, by Caroline Aoyagi, page 1. More than 60 key figures from the decade-long Japanese American redress campaign gathered at UCLA’s ‘Voices of JA Redress’ conference on Sept. 11-13 to discuss the historic civil rights movement. The event brought together JACL, NCRR, NCJAR members, veterans, draft resisters, politicians and civil rights activists to document and reconcile differing perspectives on the redress struggle.
  • Key Players Gather at UCLA (continued), page 9. This continuation of the redress conference coverage includes reflections from Grace Shimizu on unresolved cases for Japanese Latin Americans and railroad workers, and from Kay Ochi and John Tateishi on the political climate since redress passed. Participants emphasized that redress remains a ‘partial victory’ with continued civil rights work needed.

Community

  • Chinese American Councilman Acquitted of Shoplifting Bares His Personal Toll, page 1. Walnut City Councilman Joaquin Lim was acquitted of petty theft charges after being accused of shoplifting $27 worth of groceries, with the jury finding no evidence of intent within 45 minutes of deliberation. Lim described the four-month ordeal as devastating to himself and his family, but says the victory has renewed his interest in seeking a second term.
  • ‘Identity’ and What It Means to Be a JA Launches Young Adults to Dialogue, by Caroline Aoyagi, page 1. More than a dozen young Japanese Americans gathered at a JACL Youth/Student Council-sponsored rap session in Los Angeles to discuss identity, generational labels, and their disconnect from camp-era community narratives. Participants called for the JA community to embrace broader definitions of identity and for organizations like JACL to make greater efforts to engage youth.
  • Latinos Like Hawaii But Not the Stereotyping, page 1. Latino immigrants from Mexico, Puerto Rico and Guatemala are increasingly filling Hawaii’s agricultural and service jobs that many local workers avoid, following in the footsteps of earlier immigrant groups from Asia and Portugal. The 1990 census showed 81,390 Hispanic residents in Hawaii, with community support systems now emerging to serve this growing population.
  • PSWDC-JACL Hosts Campaign Financing Forum With Former City Councilman Michael Woo, page 5. The Pacific Southwest District Council of JACL hosted a forum examining the impact of the campaign finance controversy on Japanese Americans and whether Asian Americans are being scapegoated. Former LA City Councilman Michael Woo participated alongside a bipartisan group of Asian American elected officials and community advocates.
  • Korean War Memorial Exhibit Added, page 11. The traveling Japanese American Korean War Veterans Memorial exhibit opens at the National Japanese American Historical Society’s Herbst International Hall in San Francisco from Sept. 13 through Nov. 9. The exhibit will run alongside displays on Japanese Americans in popular music and baseball, with a special program planned for Sept. 20.
  • Fish n’ Pitch Winners, page 12. The Reno JACL chapter held its annual Fish ‘n’ Pitch fishing and pitching event on July 12, with boat rides provided by Richard Yamamoto. Winners in the adult division included Tyler Onitsuka, Allison Kop, and Ron Yamamoto, while youth division leaders were Andrew Kop, Michelle Kop, and Tomiko Ihara.

Military & Veterans

  • Original MIS Logo, 50 Years Later, Laid to Rest, by Harry K. Honda, page 1. A majority of representatives from eight Nisei MIS veterans clubs voted to retire the original gopher logo designed by Chris Ishii for the Military Intelligence Service Language School during WWII. The decision followed complaints from the American Indian Movement that the logo’s feathered headdress was disrespectful, though some MIS veterans expressed reservations about replacing the historic emblem.
  • Original MIS Logo Laid to Rest (continued feature), page 9. This continuation details the new MIS displays at Fort Huachuca’s Army Intelligence Museum and the various replacement logo designs adopted by different regional MIS veteran clubs. It also notes scheduling conflicts between a planned Hawaii AJA veterans reunion and the National JACL convention in Philadelphia.

Commentary

  • An Audit and a Petition, by Bob Sakaniwa, page 1. The National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium released its 1996 Audit showing a 17 percent increase in anti-Asian incidents, while national APA groups filed an unprecedented civil rights petition with the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The author notes the troubling increase in incidents came even as overall violent crime declined nationally.
  • Let’s Talk JACL: Reflections on National Convention, by Hiromi Ueha, Nicole Inouye, page 3. The authors, National Youth Council leaders, reflect on the JACL National Convention’s ‘Leading into the Future’ theme and thank sponsors and supporters of youth programming across various districts. They discuss ongoing efforts to help chapters recruit young adult members before the end of their biennium.
  • From the Frying Pan: JACL’s Remarkable Turnaround, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa reflects on JACL’s near-collapse a few years prior due to financial troubles and leadership crises, crediting former president Denny Yasuhara and National Director Herb Yamanishi for stabilizing the organization. He praises the current leadership for restoring credibility and financial health, urging continued support for the organization’s revival.
  • Undergraduate Scholarship Winners Continued, page 7. This continuation of the scholarship feature profiles additional undergraduate winners including Kathy Rumi Kawaguchi, Kristin Kayo Higaki, Michelle Furukawa, Christopher Oka and others, detailing their academic achievements and personal essays on Japanese American identity. Many winners discuss navigating mixed heritage, cultural pride, and the role of JACL in their communities.
  • Early Years of ‘Jap’ Auto License Plates, by Harry Honda, page 8. Honda recounts the 25-year history of JACL’s fight against offensive ‘JAP’ vanity license plates in California, tracing back to a 1972 controversy when National JACL identified a dozen offensive plates and pushed for legislation against them. The piece connects this history to a current Mission Viejo case involving a plate reading ‘NJAP’ being challenged in court.
  • CLPEF Allocations Funded Promising Ideas, page 8. This piece explains that the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund’s purpose was to further educate the American public about the internment rather than document what organizations did to achieve redress. It argues the government remains responsible for funding additional redress for groups still excluded, such as railroad workers and Japanese Latin Americans.
  • Being Inland During WW2 Was a Nightmare, by Frank Aanrshu Ishii, page 8. Ishii recounts his family’s harrowing experience living in Sparks, Nevada during WWII, an area inland enough to avoid relocation centers but left without WRA protections. He describes FBI raids on his home, curfews, and travel restrictions imposed despite his family’s law-abiding status.
  • Letters to the Editor, by Various, page 8. This collection of letters addresses topics including a computation correction regarding NAACP membership statistics, gratitude for the Whereabouts column reuniting old friends, and Ronald Katsuyama’s racial attitudes survey findings. Other letters discuss searching for the Oda family regarding wartime artifacts and debate over whether to continue observing Day of Remembrance in February.
  • Mention Our Cause, by Ida Otani, page 8. Otani writes expressing frustration at the lack of editorial support in the Pacific Citizen for railroad workers’ families seeking redress recognition. She questions whether the newspaper is friend or foe to their cause and asks for acknowledgment of their efforts.
  • Beer Gone Flat, by Akemi Kavleng, page 9. Kavleng reflects on feeling burned out despite career and personal success, drawing a parallel to aging Nisei JACL members who feel similarly fatigued with the organization’s familiar issues. She suggests JACL needs a fresh perspective and new direction to reinvigorate members, much as she found renewal by shifting her own career focus.
  • Affirmative Action: What Happens When Doors Close to Our Children?, page 9. The author responds to Bill Hosokawa’s column quoting critics of Asian American support for affirmative action, defending the policy as necessary despite imperfect application to Asian Americans specifically. The writer, a beneficiary of affirmative action as the first Asian American director at AT&T Bell Labs, warns of consequences if such opportunities are closed to future generations.

National

  • Asian American Coalition Seeks USCCR Hearings for Scapegoating Bias, page 1. A broad coalition of Asian Pacific American groups filed a 27-page civil rights complaint with the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights citing a pattern of hostile actions by Congress members, the DNC, NRSC and news media. The ACLU and law firm Minami, Lew and Tamaki filed the petition, which numerous national APA organizations expect the commission to review this fall.
  • Asian American Journalists Deplore Racial Slant on Coverage of Campaign Finances, page 10. At the Asian American Journalists Association’s 10th annual convention in Boston, panelists criticized mainstream media’s racially charged coverage of the campaign finance scandal. Panelists including Paul Watanabe and Francey Lim Youngberg argued Asian Americans were being unfairly scapegoated while similar scandals involving non-Asian donors received less scrutiny.

JACL

  • JACL Applauds the California Legislature, page 1. The California legislature introduced AJR 38, a joint resolution condemning prejudice against Asian and Pacific Islander Americans stemming from campaign finance controversy scapegoating. JACL National VP Lori Fujimoto praised the legislature’s leadership and noted JACL’s parallel efforts in Washington D.C. petitioning the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
  • Congratulations 1997 JACL Scholarship Winners, page 6. The article profiles numerous graduate and undergraduate JACL scholarship recipients including Norman Karo, Tisha Lei Agustin, JoAnn Renee Yamane, Yasushi Nakahara, Karen Murayama, Christopher Massey, Junko Audra Nojima, Natalie Nina Hottle, Alissa Sen Yamasaki and others. Each winner’s biographical background and personal essay excerpts on Japanese American identity and community involvement are highlighted.
  • $20,000 Trust Set for Kitayama Award, page 6. Ms. Keiko Kitayama donated $20,000 to Watsonville JACL to establish a trust fund for a high school scholarship awards program, announced by chapter president Mas Hashimoto. Applicants are required to write an essay on Executive Order 9066, honoring Watsonville’s connection to being among the first areas where Japanese Americans were removed.
  • Cleveland JACL Reviewed 161 Applications for 1997 Scholarships, page 7. JACL scholarship committees reviewed 161 applications for numerous scholarship categories including financial aid and creative/performing arts awards. National Headquarters staff discussed plans for a JACL Alumni Association to maintain connections with past scholarship winners and involve them in future JACL generations.

In-Depth

  • The Enigma of the Takeuchi Document, by James Oda, page 3. This lengthy feature explores the controversial Takeuchi Document, an ancient Japanese text claiming a chronicle of imperial rule predating official history, including claims that Jesus Christ and Moses visited Japan. The author details the document’s secret 1944 trial history and ultimately criticizes theories that ancient Japanese emperors ruled the prehistoric world.

Arts & Entertainment

  • CLPEF Announces New Web Links, by Stephanie Lai, page 5. The Civil Liberties Public Education Fund added an ‘Important Links’ page to its website connecting users to numerous resources on Japanese American internment, civil rights, and culture. The intern reviewed and summarized dozens of sites including museum pages, internment camp exhibits, and Japanese American organizational resources.
  • Boston Ballet Artist, page 10. Romi Beppu, a 1994 Punahou graduate from Nuuanu, Hawaii, describes living her dream dancing with the Boston Ballet since 1995, despite a demanding season of 52 Nutcracker performances. She has previously danced with the Hawaii State Ballet and American Ballet Theater in New York.
  • Publishers Host Gala for Barone, Ujifusa, by Harry K. Honda, page 10. A Washington Post society page covered a publisher’s party celebrating Michael Barone and Grant Ujifusa’s latest edition of The Almanac of American Politics, a influential guide to Congress first published 25 years ago. Congressman Robert Matsui credits the Almanac’s clout with helping pass Japanese American redress legislation by giving Ujifusa access to key Republican lawmakers and President Reagan.

Obituaries

  • Ken Uchida, 78, Intermountain JACL Leader, page 11. Ken Uchida, a decorated Army Reserve colonel and former Ogden JACL chapter president, died Aug. 21 after a two-year battle with cancer. He was to be honored among the original 1000 Club founders and had sought recognition of the Bronze Star for 22 Nisei enlistees throughout his life.
  • Horsky, 87, Appealed for Korematsu, Endo, page 11. Charles A. Horsky, 87, founder of the local ACLU chapter and longtime Covington & Burling partner, died of kidney failure Aug. 20. As a volunteer lawyer enlisted by ACLU head Roger Baldwin, he played a central role in the landmark Mitsuye Endo and Fred Korematsu Supreme Court cases challenging Japanese American internment.

Sports

  • Idaho Potato Farmer ‘Makes’ Front Cover, page 12. Albert Wada, who farms approximately 180 million pounds of Russet Burbank potatoes, wheat and barley across three Idaho counties, was featured for his successful farming operation built over 25 years. Wada, a longtime Pocatello-Blackfoot JACL member, took over the family farm after his brother’s tragic death in a gas explosion in 1972.
  • Kinder Set to Race in Japan Against NASCAR’s Big Boys, page 12. 22-year-old John Kinder became the first Japanese American invited to race at the NASCAR Suzuka Thunder Special in Japan on November 23, competing alongside stars like Rusty Wallace and Jeff Gordon. Kinder, whose grandmother will serve as his translator on the trip, hopes the visit will help him connect more deeply with his Japanese family heritage.

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