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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 2, 1981)
.¿ ft Japanesë-Âmericans seek financial redress i By Gregory L. Gudger A lth o u g h chances fo r federal fin an cia l restitu tion fo r Japanese- Americans are considered slim “ at th is tim e ,’ ' Japanese-Am erican C itiz e n 's League representatives said recently, that it is o f paramount im portance that the U nited States p u b lic ly expose the wholesale v io la tio n o f Japanese-Am erican c iv il rig hts d u rin g W o rld W ar II th ro u g h the studies o f the C o m mission on Wartime Relocation and Internment o f Civilians. Established by an act o f Congress durin g the last year o f the C arter A d m inistration, fo llo w in g years o f pressure from the JA C L , the nine- member commission w ill review the facts and circumstances su rro u n ding the u p ro o tin g and in c a r ceration o f 120.000 mainland-based Japanese-Americans from 1942-45 fo llo w in g the signing o f Executive O rder 9066 by then President F ra n klin D. Roosevelt. The C om m ission w ill re p o rt its fin d in g to Congress and the President in 1981, as well as making recommendations for redress. “ This is not only for us but for all Am erica...a crusade we all need to engage in , ” emphasized M in o ru Yasui, head o f the JA C L Redress C om m ittee and the Denver, C o lo ra d o C om m ission on C om m unity Relations. The work o f the Wartime Relocation and Internment Commission and the support o f its efforts is “ so im portant” even after 39 years because “ an injustice done that is not corrected remains an in justice fo re v e r," said the ebuillicnt Yasui, noting the obvious “ fra ilty ” o f even constitutional guarantees. Representative Norm an M ineta, fo u rth -te rm D em ocrat fro m C alifornia and the main sponsor o f P .L . 96-317 which established the comm ision, explained that the new com m ission’ s role as being sim ilar to that o f previous commissions - the Kerner on c iv il disorders, the Eisenhower on police b ru ta lity and the Scranton on campus unrest - in e lic itin g the facts fo r p u b lic education and policy change. In his key note address to the 150 persons attending the JA C L workshop, “ A Broken P rom ise: A Case For Redress” at Lewis and C lark College, Representative Mineta said the upcom ing com m ission report “ forces us to concentrate on the fa c ts ...s trip s away conspiracy theories as being based on the war- Professor Gordon Hirabayashl; Representative Norman Minata; Mrs Susie Sakai; Dr. Arthur Flemming; national JACL President Dr. James Tsosimura; Minoru Uasorl participate In discussion on restitution to Japanese. tim e hysteria o f the tim e s .. .(and) guarantees public exposure so that h is to ry w ill be a ccurate ly re c o r ded.” M ineta and Yasui disagree, as do o th e r m embers o f the Japanese- A m erican co m m u n ity on whether the U .S . w ill make fin a n c ia l reparations sought by the 30,000- member J A C L fo r the estim ated S400 m illio n lost by Japanese- Am ericans durin g the internm ent, only 10 percent o f which was ever retu rne d. M in e ta noted th a t the “ probabilities are very m in im a l" fo r such redress given the n a tio n ’ s econom ic status and the c u rre n t, conservative pow er s tru c tu re . Y asui, a native o f H oo d R iver whose co nviction fo r v io la tin g the m iltia r y ’ s ra cia lly-b a se d cu rfe w (along w ith the co nviction o f G o r don H irabayashi) was upheld by a Supreme C o u rt ru lin g , stood firm on the JA C L p o s itio n dem anding m onetary redress. Regardless o f Reagan economic policies, "w e w ill strive and we shall not yield,” Yasui explained. He ind icate d th a t pay ment could be either individual pay m ents, “ B lo c k ” paym ents put to w a rd c u ltu ra l program s and scholarships or a combination o f the two. According to the J A C L , the >25 b illio n re s titu tio n paym ents West G erm any has made to Jews and Jewish in s titu tio n s fo r the in c a r ce ra tion and m urde r o f Jewish citizens by the T h ird Reich sets a precedent for the J A C L ’ s demands. Ironically, the U.S. and other allied powers im posed the concept on Germany. Both M ineta and Yasui are reluc tant to second-guess the commission regarding its recommendations, and both agree that “ ...th e real battle w ill be (fo r the U.S.) to carry out the reco m m en d atio ns made by the commission.” D r. A rth u r Flemming, Chairm an o f the U .S . C o m m issio n on C iv il Rights and a presidential appointee to the W a rtim e In te rn m e n t and R e lo ca tio n C o m m is s io n , urged Japanese-American conferees not to “ sell the process s h o rt...it can have m e a n in g fu l e ffe c ts as fa r as yo ur c o m m u n ity is concerned, o the r m in o rity com m unities are concer ned, and the future o f the nation is co n c e rn e d .” F le m m in g , fo rm e r President o f the U n iv e rs ity o f O regon and veteran o f num erous n a tio n a l com m ittees and c o n ferences on c iv il rig h ts , said the W artim e Com m ission’ s recommen d a tio n power is at the “ h e a rt' o f the body’ s fu n ctio n . And although its recom m endations “ may not be accepted q u ic k ly ,” by those “ in terested in m a in ta in in g the status q u o ,” historical precedent dictates that “ they (recommendations) even tually w ill make it into law .” Flemming also did not speculate on what the commission w ill present to the President and Congress in 1982, but assured “ When you fin a lly do set up a com m ission o f th is n a tu re , it is not an idle g estu re ... it does lead to some tangible results.” S im ila r demands fo r rep aratio n have not fo llo w e d fro m Blacks or o the r A m e rica n m in o ritie s , but backers n o f f the the commission comm ission allud alluded to the im p o rta n c e o f Black and other m in o rity support o f the study group’ s e ffo rt. Both Representative M ineta and Dr. Flemming noted that the plight o f Blacks led to the establishment o f earlier commissions and subsequent n a tio n a l p olicie s d irected to w a rd Black and o th e r m in o r ity needs. M any o f these p olicie s are s till struggling through the “ implemen ta tio n stage,” F lem m ing said, ex plaining that Euro-A m erican Tears and the desire to m aintain a white- dominated status quo have been the prim ary stum bling blocks to effec tive im p lem en ta tion o f c iv il rights m andates, and the ro o t o f racist policies enacted in the nation. In o rd e r fo r the W a rtim e C om m is s io n ’ s reco m m en d atio n to be successfully tra n s itio n e d in to government policy, said Flemming, “ pressure fro m o th e r m in o rity groups as w ell as the Japanese- A m e ric a n c o m m u n ity may be re quired.” D u rin g a panel discussion in the JA C L w o rk s h o p ’ s a fte rn o o n session, p an elist Susie S akai, re sponding to a question regarding a B la c k /J a p a n e s e -A m e ric a n c o a li tio n , said, “ Japanese-Am ericans must be cognizant o f w h a t’ s going dn around u s ...c o a litio n s are our way o f addressing problems.” Support from at least one Black, fo rm e r U .S . S enator E dw ard B ro oke , w o u ld be s ig n ific a n t. Brooke was appointed to the W ar tim e C om m issio n by the Senate. When asked about the appointment of B ro oke , C o-com m issio ne r F lem m in g said, “ ...S om e people fe lt...h e w ou ld take a p o s itio n o f desirability.” Besides F lem m ing and B rooke, other appointees to the Commission on W artim e R elocation and In te r nment o f C ivilians include: Joan Z. Bernstein, Father Robert I . Drinan, form er Am bassador A rth u r G o ld berg, F ather S .V . G r o m o ff, R epresentative D aniel Lundgren, Judge W illia m M . M a ru ta n i and former Senator Hugh B. M itchell. and, on top o f this, I was just trying to do my best on the exam ." When the Bar results came, they held another setback: M onica was in fo rm e d she had flu n k e d . I he passing score was 65 and she was in form ed she had fa lle n sh ort by 0.124®7o! She had been given a score o f 64.876«7o. Since she was w ell w ith in the a llow able 3 p o in ts , she p etitioned and, in January o f this year, she was in fo rm e d there had been a mistake, she had passed after all. A t the m om ent, M o n ic a L ittle , JD, is w orking fo r H U D in Seattle doing legal research w hile lo o kin g for a job as a private attorney in the P o rtla n d area. L ik e every o the r community, Black people also draw up wills, file lawsuits, draw up con tracts and make use o f the e ntire spectrum o f legal services. N ot all TOWN MEETING w ith Congressm an Ron W y d e n WHERE: WHEN: Cafetorium King Neighborhood 11 a m - 1 p m Saturday April 4, 1981 Facility 4815 N t 7th " I need your views on issues facing our district, our State and Congress. Drop by our town meeting and let me know what's on your mind: high energy prices, inflation, jobs, M edicare.. or any other topic. I'LL MAKE NO SPEECHES - just listen to you and try to answer your questions." Black people use the lo w -in c o m e and subsidized Legal Services or the Public Defender. There are lots o f Black people who can a ffo rd private attorneys and M onica L ittle hopes soon to be able to cater to just such clients. Soon there w ill be someone in the c o m m u n ity to w hom we can tu rn when we need the services o f a lawyer. For those who may be con sidering Law School, Mrs. L ittle has some words o f advice. She says one has to und ersta nd the e ffe cts o f racism , the negative self-im age that most o f us grow up w ith. As a sm all p art o f the p o p u la tio n , we need to co n s ta n tly re in fo rc e each other. “ Do not be a fra id ; do not be talked out o f it. Law school is not h a rd ; it is the pace and you can d is c ip lin e y o u rs e lf fo r ju s t fo u r years. It also helps a great deal if you can go out and w ork in a legal environment because that gives you a feel fo r the demands and respon s ib ilitie s o f the jo b . You need a good fo u n d a tio n in w ritin g sk ills and you must train yourself to think lo g ic a lly fro m A to B to C and so on. I w o u ld c e rta in ly hope that m ore people take up law as a profession. We need it badly, she concludes. The P o rtla n d O bserver and the c o m m u n ity jo in to ge th er in co ng ra tu la tin g M rs. M onica L ittle on this very im portant achievement. We wish her the best as she embarks on this new, exciting and influential career and hope th a t her success w ill encourage m ore students to fo llo w in her fo o ts te p s . It is the lawyers who w ill tell us when we are being shortchanged. Once m ore: C o n g ra tu la tio n s ! M a k o ro k o to ! A m h lo p e ! Feliciations! " O p e r a " i t a shortened form of the Italian opera in mumea meaning "musical w ork." Säi I ■ENOW'S FOR BR A N D S you know VA R IK TIK S yo u lik e SIZES y o u w a n t The Friendliest I Steret In Tew Since 190« . o • o M l I » .I X M I • I ««I » SS»h A ! • • • • 3 3 rd A N . l . H e m » « « 122 n d A N . l O hsen • 3R»h A • I . Otvtsten N U tm b erd « O r t l e y e 2 3 rd A •v rr» .« d . • S e t e ij h Hill» S t e s e • L e te O » ~ * e* Q© S A* • • tS 3 n d • * 1 1 Otvtsten • K in « C ity • O ak O rw o i u o m i or « * ’ ! • « x i n EXODUS d u c a /u ru d a n d d t s d m e n / Werdet 1639 N E. Alberta PORTLAND. OREGON 9721 1 284-7997 Little joins law profession (Continued from Page I Col 1) the firs t place, in the exam ination room, there were only a handful ol m inorities as usual. Adding to that ominous intim ida tion was the con stant rem inder she had heard th ro u g h o u t.h e r fo u r years o f law school o f how many m in o rity students flu n k the bar exam. Law studies are not hard i f you do not mind the relentless pace, she says. “ W hat is so hard is co n sta n tly being reminded that as a m in o rity, your chances o f making it through are almost non-existent. Every year so many students flunk the bar but it is the names o f the m in o rity students that are waved in your face every time. Needless to say, if your confidence is easily shaken, it can drive you to quit. A ll these anxieties plagued me as they must have plagued all other m in ority students E SHOP From the Front Door BY TO M BO O THE FROM THE FRONT DOOR, I have received many phone calls and In person com m ents regarding the March 19th and March 26th, from the Front Door publication in the P o rtla n d Observer. All com m ents have been positive and s u p p o rtiv e o f m y p o s itio n re g a rd in g B lack "O n T im e ” p a rtic ip a tio n in Political processes and I have been encouraged to w rite more on this subject. My feelings are, "O nce you speak and are heard, to keep saying the same thing ends up being counter productive.” However, I have a proposition for all who are supportive. If each person w h o is supportive w o uld get your neighbors inform ed "O N TIM E” and into the voting booth "O N TIM E” would you believe we would be SOLVING the problem; as opposed to just TALKING about it. THEN LET's DO IT, OK? Another thing which I am concerned about is our attitude regarding our im mediate com m unity where we live. Many of our citizens will go dow n tow n, or in other parts of the city and behave respectfully and clean, then come home where we live and throw BEER BOTTLES on the streets and leave our streets and sidewalks littered w ith broken glass, paper and fast food boxes. There is no excuse for complaining and critizing littered conditions, when it is us who are allowing our neighbors to be irresponsibe to our com m unity. Here is an area w h ich we as in dividuals can greatly im prove, w hen w e all decide to do so. During February, I published a model of w hat I think should be a base regard ing the establishm ent of a Policy of Principal, published as BLACK POLICY OF PRINCIPLE." It's contents were: "C leanliness, W holesom eness, H o n esty, T ru th fu ln ess and R espect shall be my policy of principle in all my relationships from this day forw ard; And I shall communicate this Policy of Principle w ith a Postive attitude to all whom I encounter." Lets practice Cleanliness the rewards are pure and genuine. Again, you ca n't spend your tim e or money fo r a better purpose; Join w ith the Exodus Youth M ental Health Offensive, building our com m unity in to a better and safer place to live and raise our child en. Brought to you m a public service by House of Exodus
