More than ever, the US needs to remember February 19, another day that lives in infamy

SMITHSONIAN

Thousands of American citizens of Japanese descent were rounded up an incarcerated because
of Executive Order 9066.

With the rise of anti-Asian sentiment, new attempts to deprive land ownership by people of Asian descent and the increasing heat generated by the tensions with China, it seems that most Americans have forgotten what happened o February 19, 1942, another day that lives in infamy.

On Feb. 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which gave the US Army the authority to remove civilians from the military zones established in Washington, Oregon, and California during WWII. This led to the forced removal and incarceration of some 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast, who had to abandon their jobs, their homes, and their lives to be sent to one of ten concentration camps scattered in desolate, remote regions of the country.

No Japanese Americans were ever charged, much less convicted, of espionage or sabotage against the United States. Yet they were targeted, rounded up, and imprisoned for years, simply for having the “face of the enemy.”

FYI: For a list of events and observances around the nation fo the 82nd Day of Remembrance, click here.

“Executive Order 9066 (is) an unconstitutional and discriminatory policy born out of prejudice led to the unjust internment of Japanese Americans in incarceration camps," says Senator Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii.

"Now, diversity is under attack with over a dozen states enacting laws targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion—from limiting curriculum of diverse histories to restricting LGBTQ+ youth from accessing health care or playing sports aligned with their gender."

Every February, the Japanese American community commemorates Executive Order 9066 as a reminder of the impact the incarceration experience has had on our families, our community, and our country. It is an opportunity to educate others on the fragility of civil liberties in times of crisis, and the importance of remaining vigilant in protecting the rights and freedoms of all.

“A day of remembrance is a day to atone for our country's wrongs. Japanese internment is an episode in American history that highlighted a failure in leadership to uphold the Constitution," says Rep. Mark Takano, D-CA. "My family lost land, upward mobility, and their dignity to race-based fear -- we cannot allow that to happen again. Join me in remembering this injustice while recommitting ourselves to uphold our country's founding principle of justice for all.”

The family of Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, was among the thousands rounded up and  incarcerated because of Executive ORder 1066.

“Although it has been 82 years since President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, families continue to bear scars from the xenophobia and hate that stripped 120,000 people of Japanese descent of everything from the most basic human rights to homes and life savings," says the fresman lawmaker. "As one of millions of descendants of internees, on this Day of Remembrance, I ask that we act with urgency to learn from the mistakes of our past and recommit ourselves to being a nation free of intolerance and prejudice.”

The day may be forgotten by most mainstream media and barely mentioned in history textbooks, but the lessons that can be learned from that Executive Order 9066 has gained new significance in the context of today's racial tensions.

"Disturbingly,... the same hysteria that led to the racial targeting and stripping of property ownership rights from Japanese Americans has reemerged today in federal and state-level measures that aim to limit the civil rights of our communities," says Rep. Judy Chu, chair of the Contressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

"This uptick in shameful, anti-Asian fear-mongering and discrimination is why now, more than ever, we must speak up in the face of injustice and ensure that we do not repeat the mistakes of our past. As we observe this Day of Remembrance, we must stand together and recommit to safeguard the civil rights of all Americans.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the blog Views From the Edge.

Day of Remembrance statement from the JACL calls for reperations for African Americans

History matters

By the Japanese American Citizens League.

This Sunday, February 19, 2023, marks the 81st anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, resulting in the mass incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese Americans.

Similarly, thousands of Japanese Latin Americans and Japanese Canadians were incarcerated en masse in their own countries or, in some cases, were kidnapped to the United States against their will to serve as “prisoners of war.” As we look back and mourn one of the darkest moments of our community’s and nation’s history, we also celebrate the many triumphs as well.

This past year for example, we saw the passage of legislation to study the creation of a National Museum of Asian-Pacific American History and Culture, where the stories of all AANHPI communities will be celebrated and remembered. Towards the end of 2022, we saw the passage of two major bills, namely, the Norman Y. Mineta Japanese American Confinement Education (JACE) Act, and the World War II Japanese American History Network Act. Both bills will support organizations that work to educate the public about the experiences of Japanese Americans during World War II.

This year also marks the 35th anniversary of one of the greatest triumphs of our community in the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 as a response to our history of incarceration. It was the culmination of nearly two decades of multigenerational work by former incarcerees, their children and grandchildren, members of Congress, community leaders, supporters, and thousands of allies across multiple communities.

While no amount of money could heal the traumas of everything our community lost, it was our government’s acknowledgment of its wrongdoing that allowed our community to begin the healing process. The Civil Liberties Act showed the power of community organizing in how it forced our government to acknowledge and apologize for the suffering it caused to its people. In the 35 years since the passing of this bill, our journey toward achieving true reparatory justice continues. 

HR 40, or the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act, has been introduced in some form in every Congressional session since 1989, the year after the passage of Japanese American redress. It was first introduced by Representative John Conyers, and more recently by Representative Sheila Jackson Lee.

Much of the framework of HR 40 is based on the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) which helped pave the way for the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. The African American community was one of the first to support the Japanese American community in its path toward redress, and now it is time that Japanese Americans do the same.

Late last year, the JACL, the National Nikkei Reparations Coalition, and over 70 other Asian American organizations joined together to send a letter to President Biden calling for the creation of a commission to begin the process for the African American community toward reparations and healing. 

As we continue into 2023 and beyond, we look back on our triumphs and hardships, as well as our solidarity in the hopes that we can make a change for a better future for all people in this nation. When our country seems more divided than ever, let us stand together and show that the unimaginable tragedies our ancestors suffered are not forgotten and are worthy of our government’s recognition and repair. 

Man who attacked Japanese American father and daughter charged with hate crime

SCREEN CAPTURE

Portland residents demonstrate against racially motivated attacks against Asians

A leisurely bicycle ride turned into a nightmare for a vacationing Japanese American family in Portland, Oregon.

District Attorney Mike Schmidt said suspect Dylan Kesterson, 34, has been charged with harassment, assault and multiple counts of hate crimes for attacking a California man and his five-year old daughter, who were bicycling near the Columbia River.

The California man, his wife and 5-year-old daughter were visiting Portland for the July 4th weekend. They were riding a rental four-wheel bicycle together along the Columbia River when Kesterson began yelling anti-Asian slurs. 

The verbal onslaught of anti-Asian slurs turned into a physical altercation when Kesterson allegedly began punching the father, who wants to remain unnamed out of fear of retaliation.

“We felt we might be killed,” explained the victim by phone during an arraignment hearing Tuesday. “This is a very horrible experience for us and if he’s released, we believe a lot of Japanese and other Asians will be injured.”

“He hit my head more than 50 times,” the victim told KGW. The attacker also punched his daughter in the head. Fortunately, her bicycle helmet absorbed the blow. His wife was not injured in the attack.

Within minutes, Kesterson was apprehended due to the intervention and assistance of numerous bystanders.

The father was hospitalized, treated for his injuries and released. The daughter was unhurt but suffered from the trauma. The family has since returned to their California home.

“We are grateful for the swift intervention of the people in the vicinity of the attack who represent the true hearts of Portland residents,” stated Portland JACL chapter president, Jeff Matsumoto. "These people are the heroes who made sure that the violence did not escalate."

“Like the vast majority of Portland residents, we are appalled at the racist attack that occurred as yet another example of anti-Asian bias and hatred which we call upon all our fellow citizens to condemn and intervene when they see it happening.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

Day of Remembrance: JACL marks the 80th anniversary of Executive Order 9066

Executive Order 9066 was signed by President Franklin Roosevelt on Feb. 19, 1942.

On the anniversary of Executive Order 9066, the Japanese Americans mark Feb. 19, 1942 as their own "day of infamy."

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, initiating a controversial World War II policy, with lasting consequences to this day for Japanese Americans. The document ordered the forced removal of resident "enemy aliens" from parts of the West vaguely identified as military areas.

Japanese immigrants and their descendants, regardless of American citizenship status or length of residence, were systematically rounded up, forced to sell their homes, farms and businesses and with only the clothes they were able to carry, they were transported to faraway prison camps.

The imprisonment of these Americans of Japanese descent is widely condemned as one of the most shameful episodes of American history.

With the hope that the US never descends to the hysteria and racism that prompted the mass incarceration, the few remaining survivors of the prison camps and their descendants are determined to never let America forget the racism inherent in EO 9066, pushing that the imprisonment of 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent is not whitewashed in U.S. history and allying themselves with other groups who are victims of injustice or bigotry.

Executive Order 9066 marked a shameful chapter in American history.

On this Day of Remembrance, Feb. 19, 2022, the Japanese American Citizens League, issued the following statement marking the 80th anniversary of President Roosevelt signing Executive Oder 9066:

Eighty years ago on February 19, 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 after growing pressure from the Department of War, Navy, and the general public in the wake of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the United States’ entrance into World War II. The order, though never explicitly stating any racial or ethnic group, gave the Army and Navy the power to prescribe military zones within the United States and to exclude any and all persons deemed necessary. Today, we remember EO 9066 as the order that gave way to the forced removal and mass incarceration of 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry. All without due process, trial, or even evidence. 

This piece of paper and the subsequent events that followed forever changed the course of the Japanese American community. Those 120,000 people lost their livelihoods, their homes, countless personal belongings, millions of dollars in lost revenue and savings, and most of all their dignity. From living in modified horse stalls, whitewashed with mud, hair, and the lingering scent of manure, to the barren desert camps and tar-papered barracks where dust seeped into everything, the toilets and showers gave no privacy, and the machine guns were pointed inwards. It is hard to fathom the feelings and emotions all those who lived through this experience must have felt. 

We saw our community torn apart when their loyalty was questioned even further by being forced to fill out the infamous “loyalty questionnaire.” It asked all incarcerees, regardless of age, gender, or citizenship if they would serve the United States on combat duty and if they would forswear any and all allegiance to the Emperor of Japan. Families, siblings, friends, loved ones, all were forced to take sides, and in many instances were torn apart by the decision to answer “yes, yes” or “no, no.” Both sides believed that in taking a stance they would be proving their loyalty and would be on the right side in the pages of history, and they were both correct. 

On the one hand, there were the exploits of Japanese American service members who joined the fight against oppression and tyranny while their families were locked away back home. The members of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, 100th Infantry Battalion, and Military Intelligence Service were not only the most highly decorated unit for their size and duration in all of US Military history but they were also credited with helping to shorten the war through their missions in Europe and the Pacific. 

On the other, there were those whose resistance was their fight against tyranny from their own government. Whether it was all the way to the Supreme Court in the cases of Gordon Hirabayashi, Minoru Yasui, Fred Korematsu, and Mitsuye Endo. Or in the individual and collective resistance of those who were removed to Tule Lake segregation center, or those who resisted the draft and spent time in federal penitentiary. Or even those who’d faced enough humiliation and asked to be repatriated to Japan, a distant memory that some had never even seen before. 

We also remember the generation after camp who, along with their parents and grandparents, fought to right the wrongs their country committed in the halls of Congress. When the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 was passed, it was a commitment from the government, finally acknowledging what our community had known all along, that we had done nothing wrong and that the incarceration had been caused by, “war hysteria, racial prejudice, and a failure of political leadership.” While it would never make up for the monetary losses and the years of trauma, the redress era put our community and our nation on a path of healing and using the story of the incarceration to make change today. 

So here we stand, 80 years later, in remembrance of the event that forever changed our community. But we also celebrate achievements that have come in its aftermath, such as the recent passage of the Amache National Historic Site Act to bring Amache into the National Parks Service. Yet, we also look forward to new challenges, such as supporting the African American community in their campaign for redress that too is long overdue. This year, we should remember all of this history in order to work better as a nation to make a change and to continue righting wrongs for other communities who are victimized by injustice and bigotry.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow me on Twitter @DioknoEd.

Amache concentration camp for Japanese Americans during WWII to become historical site

In the grasslands of Colorado stands an old watchtower that used to look over the the concentration camp that housed thousands of American citizens of Japanese descent. It will become part of the future Amache National Historic Site.

Late Monday (Feb. 15), the US Senate unanimously passed legislation to establish the Amache National Historic Site, located outside of Granada, Colorado, as a part of the National Park System.

“I have waited many, many years to see the day where we can be certain that Amache, as a place of reflection, remembrance, honor, and healing, is protected for our current and future generations,” said Amache survivor and advocate, Bob Fuchigami, in a statement. “My parents did not live to see this day. The time is not only right; it is long overdue.”

“This is an important action by our nation in acknowledging the injustice that was inflicted upon the Japanese American community by our government," said David Inoue, executive director of the Japanese American Citizens League.

"This will be an opportunity to share not only the injustice of what happened to those incarcerated at Amache, but also puts their story in the context of Colorado’s history and the bravery of Governor Ralph Carr, who was the rare politician who stood up for the rights of Japanese Americans and opposed the incarceration. His steadfast values cost him his political career.”

The legislation was led by Colorado Senators Michael Bennet (D) and John Hickenlooper (D) and Colorado US Representatives Joe Neguse (D) and Ken Buck (R).

To get the Senate's full support, backers agreed to a last-minute amendment in order to address the concerns of Utah's Republican Senator Mike Lee, who held up its earlier passage last week.

"Senator Lee does not object to this specific historical site. He does object to any increase in the total amount of land owned by the federal government as the federal government fails to adequately care for the land already in its vast holdings," Lee's spokesman, Lee Lonsberry, told The Associated Press.

After negotiations between Lee and Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, the final version of the bill merely requires the National Park Service accept the land, less than a square mile of public land maintained by volunteers, as a donation from the nearby town of Granada, reports Colorado Public Radio.

With the amendment, the bill will have to return to the House for final approval. It originally passed that chamber 416-2. The bill will then go to President Biden for his signature.

HISTORICAL FILE

The Amache camp housed 7,000 Japanese Americans during WWII.

Amache was one of the 10 American concentration camps where nearly 120,000 people of Japanese descent were incarcerated during WWII under the false pretense of national security. Over 7,000 men, women, and children were at Amache, formally known as the Granada War Relocation Center.

The passage of this legislation this week is particularly poignant as on February 19, we commemorate the 80th anniversary of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 9066 which paved the way for the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans in the following months. The result was thousands of families uprooted from their homes with little to no time to pack any belongings or set their affairs in order. The government issued a formal apology for what it had done through the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.

“I’m thrilled the Senate passed our bill to establish Amache as a part of the National Park System,” said Sen. Bennet after the passage of the legislation. "The incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II at sites like Amache is a shameful part of our country’s history. Our bill will preserve Amache’s story to ensure future generations can learn from this dark chapter in our history.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow me on Twitter @DioknoEd.

Feb. 19: Day of Remembrance gains new relevance in 2021

OPINION

On Feb. 19 in 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the infamous Executive Order 9066, which gave the US Army the authority to remove Americans and immigrants of Japanese descent from the military zones established in Washington, Oregon, and California during WWII. 

Feb. 19 is now known as the Day of Remembrance and a reminder of how tenuous  our freedoms are and how the civility that reins in our dark side can easily be unleashed on our fellow men and women.

This led to the forced removal and incarceration of some 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast, who had to abandon their jobs, their homes, and their lives to be sent to one of 10 concentration camps scattered in desolate, remote regions of the country.

"No Japanese Americans were ever charged, much less convicted, of espionage or sabotage against the United States. Yet they were targeted, rounded up, and imprisoned for years, simply for having the 'face of the enemy,'" the Japanese American Citizens League said in a statement.

The imprisonment of the Japanese Americans is one of the darkest chapters in US history. While several hundred Germans and Italians were also removed from their homes, those communities were not incarcerated at the scale of Japanese Americans.

Entire communities -- infants to grandparents -- were sent to the so-called "Relocation centers" were often located in remote and desolate locales. Sites included Tule Lake, California; Minidoka, Idaho; Manzanar, California; Topaz, Utah; Jerome, Arkansas; Heart Mountain, Wyoming; Poston, Arizona; Granada, Colorado; and Rohwer, Arkansas.

After the war, the incarcerations camps closed down and the Japanese Americans were released to try and rebuild their lives.

In 1988, Congress passed, and President Reagan signed, Public Law 100-383 that acknowledged the injustice of internment, apologized for it, and provided a $20,000 reparation payment to each person who was incarcerated.

Japanese Americans were active in protesting the separation of refugee children from their
parents and the immigration detention centers.

"Every February, the Japanese American community commemorates Executive Order 9066 as a reminder of the impact the incarceration experience has had on our families, our community, and our country," continued the JACL statement. 

The day has become an opportunity to educate others on the fragility of civil liberties in times of crisis, and the importance of remaining vigilant in protecting the rights and freedoms of all especially when xenophobia and racism can run out of control; exactly what is happening today with the rise in anti-Asian attacks. All Asians and Asian Americans are being blamed for job losses, trade imbalances, theft of intellectual property and, of course, the coronavirus.

The JACL, one of the oldest Asian American civil rights organizations in the US, has organized a number of observances throughout the country. For information on 2021 Day of Remembrance events, click on the regions below.

Bay Area | Northern California | Central California | Southern California | Pacific Northwest | Pacific Southwest | Intermountain | Midwest | East Coast

AAPI sorely disappointed they were overlooked for Biden's Cabinet

President-elect Joe Biden' Cabinet nominees

The ripples of severe disappointment because President-elect Joe Biden failed to nominate an Asian American or Pacific Islander as a Secretary in his Cabinet is starting to look like a tidal wave.

After meetings with its boards, advisors and supporters, agencies from the Asian American and Pacific Islander community are expressing their distress that for the first time in four administration, no AAPI Secretary will serve in Cabinet. 

The presence of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris as Biden's closest advisor and the AAPI in White House senior staff failed to assuage the feeling of being ignored or being taken for granted. The nominations of Neera Tanden, who is Indian American, as head of the Office of Management and Budget, and Katherine Tai as the U.S. Trade Representative don't carry the level of influence as a Cabinet Secretary.

“[Biden’s team is] drawing a distinction that is semantically designed to diminish the validity of our claim and that I don’t appreciate,” said Rep. Mark Takano, D-CA. “I don’t appreciate that you’re going to say that this is the most diverse Cabinet in history. I would say I, with all due respect, Mr. President, I respectfully disagree and I will not give you a pass on that statement.”

As the days turned into weeks and Biden appeared reluctant to commit to an AAPI on his Cabinet, the AAPI members of Congress was reduced to pleading for representation.

RELATED: Biden's Cabinet doesn't look like America without an AAPI secretary

"How sad, though, that the members of the non-partisan, bi-cameral Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) had to repeatedly call on the incoming Biden administration to look to the diversity that is the AAPI community in delivering on the president-elect's promise to build an inclusive government that reflects the full diversity of the United States," wrote Curtis Chin, who served as the U.S. ambassador to the Asian Development Bank from 2007-2010 under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, in an oped in The Hill. 

“For too long, AAPIs have been overlooked and left out of important policy discussions impacting communities of color, including on issues like immigration and healthcare,” said a statement from the Tri-Caucus leadership, which represents the Black, Hispanice and AAPI members of Congress.

Without an AAPI Cabinet Secretary, “we could not celebrate this as a truly diverse Cabinet because it sends the message that AAPIs do not need to be included,” said their letter to Biden and his transition team. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: Updated Jan. 13, 1:15 p.m. to include CAPA21 statement.

Following are statements and press releases from some of the agencies serving and advocating for the AAPI community:

APIAVote Press Release

Last week’s Georgia Senate run-off elections capped a historic cycle for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) participation in the Peach State. APIAVote Executive Director Christine Chen issued the following statement on the Biden Administration’s lack of AAPI representation at the Secretary level:

“We are overjoyed that Asian American and Pacific Islanders made their voices heard so loudly in last week’s Georgia Senate elections, as well as throughout the 2020 cycle. With those campaigns behind us, it is of the utmost importance the new Administration and our Congressional leaders begin addressing our most pressing problems, including the COVID-19 vaccine and economic relief for working families.

“Our elected officials owe a great debt of gratitude to the AAPI community. Many of their elections were made possible by the significant contributions of Asian American and Pacific Islander votes. Approximately two-thirds of AAPI’s supported the new Administration, and AAPI’s turned out in record numbers during the general election. According to one analysis, AAPI voters increased their turnout relative to 2016 more than any other demographic group across the swing states.

“While we are thrilled that Vice President-Elect Harris is the first person of South Asian descent to hold that office, we are dismayed about the lack of an AAPI Cabinet Secretary. There were multiple highly-qualified AAPI’s for Cabinet Secretary positions, yet no final selections across all 15 agencies with Secretaries. This represents a significant step backwards in representation from President Obama, President Bush and President Clinton’s Cabinets, as well as the current Administration.

“Last week’s insurrection underscores the urgency in President-Elect Biden’s own promise at our APIAVote Presidential Town Hall that he would nominate a Cabinet that looks like America. A mostly-white mob of insurgents attacked the U.S. Capitol holding flags of hatred, while screaming racial epithets in the People’s House. Asian American and Pacific Islanders have served on the frontlines of our nation’s wars to protect our nation’s highest ideals, and have unfortunately been victim to its excesses and overreach, particularly Japanese Americans during World War II.

“Our calls for representation come from a long-held understanding in ethnic communities that having a seat at the table ensures our government’s policies reflect all of its people. During the George W. Bush Administration, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta helped ensure the Bush Administration would not make the same catastrophic mistake that led to the interments of Asian-Americans in Korematsu v. United States. Our community understandably has questions about where it fits into the new Administration, given that our faces will not be the ones setting and implementing policy as Cabinet Secretaries.

“As our nation seeks to heal from the destructive and violent events of the last year, it would be a proper gesture of respect and gratitude to welcome AAPI’s into the next round of Cabinet nominations, senior White House and agency leadership, and boards and commissions.”

"The reality remains that even the most 'woke' administrations must be judged by their reality, not their rhetoric," writes Chin. "Those who would seek to take pride in the diversity of any president’s nominations and appointments and argue that representation matters — as it most surely does, and at the highest Cabinet levels — should not likewise seek to argue that this misstep by the upcoming administration does not matter. 

In their letter to Biden's transition team, the Tri-Caucus members concluded, “Close to equal is not equal.”

Japanese American Citizen League Press Release

OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates  Press Release

It is incredibly concerning to our community that no AAPI Cabinet Secretaries were appointed. If the Biden Administration wants to fulfil their promise on uniting this country, they must start with intentional diversity and inclusion in the federal government. Our communities will feel heard if they feel seen, and this starts with AAPI appointments.

There are numerous qualified AAPIs who should be appointed to senior positions throughout the government. The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) and the Asian Pacific American Institute of Congressional Studies (APAICS) have worked tirelessly to identify and select qualified individuals for appointment. Therefore, the lack of AAPI nominations is no excuse.

We call on the incoming Biden Administration to commit to ensuring the AAPI community has a seat at every table where decisions are being made that impact us.

OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates is a national civil rights organization dedicated to improving the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs).

Dale Minami, president of the 

Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans 21

The AAPI political action committee CAPA21 expresses its disappointment that the Biden/Harris administration has filled its department-level Cabinet without a single Asian American Pacific Islander nominee.

Despite strong calls from the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and numerous Asian American Pacific Islander organizations, the Biden/Harris administration will start on January 20 as the first administration in more than 20 years without an Asian American or Pacific Islander serving as a Cabinet Secretary.

President-elect Biden campaigned on a pledge to build a Cabinet that “looks like America.” More than 24 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are part of the vibrant American population. A Cabinet without an AAPI secretary does not look like America.

The Biden/Harris administration is sending a message to the AAPI community that we are not important enough to merit being reflected in an otherwise diverse Cabinet.

Our critique does not discount the importance of the roles that will be served by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Office of Management & Budget Director-designate Neera Tanden, US Trade Representative-designate Katherine Tai, and other AAPIs nominated to leadership positions in the new administration. We celebrate Vice President-elect Harris and all the AAPIs nominated, but President-elect Biden’s pledge remains unfulfilled.

CAPA21 asks that the Biden/Harris administration explain to the AAPI community how it will make good on its promise of a Cabinet reflective of America.

EDITOR'S NOTE; A word of caution. This is an opinion piece. Readers should consult several sources of news to form their own opinion.

Over 400 religious, civil rights organizations call for police reformSCREEN

SCREEN CAPTURE

Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and over 400 other civil rights organizations Monday called on congressional leadership to swiftly rectify the legacy of white supremacy and anti-black racism that has led to police violence against Black people across the United States.

“People in Minnesota and around the country are rightfully angered and devastated by the police killing of George Floyd. The problem of state violence against communities of color, particularly Black people, has a long history in this country that we have not fully confronted or addressed," said Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

In the Obama administration, Gupta headed up civil rights enforcement for the Department of Justice.

The list of supporting groups included almost two dozen AAPI organization: the Japanese American Citizens League, the oldest AAPI civil rights group,Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO, OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) and the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center

"Federal statutory reforms are urgently needed on a range of policing issues, including use of force, police accountability, racial profiling, militarization, data collection, and training," said the letter's signers.

“Now is the time for Congress to pass meaningful police reform legislation. While we appreciate hearings and resolutions, we need comprehensive measures to happen. We need Congress to truly step up to the plate and protect Black communities from the systemic perils of over policing, police brutality, misconduct, and harassment, and end the impunity in which officers operate in taking the lives of Black people. It is your moral and ethical duty to ensure Black people and communities are free from the harm and threats from law enforcement and to curtail state sanctioned police violence and militarized police responses,” the groups said in the letter.

The signers requested a meeting with congressional leadership to discuss urgently needed reforms that ensure police officers live up to their oath to protect and serve all people in the United States.

The federal reforms addressed in the letter include: 

• Require a federal standard that use of force be reserved for only when necessary as a last resort after exhausting reasonable options, and incentivize states to implement this standard; require the use of de-escalation techniques, and the duty to intervene; ban the use of force as a punitive measure or means of retaliation against individuals who only verbally confront officers, or against individuals who pose a danger only to themselves; and require all officers to accurately report all uses of force;
• Prohibit all maneuvers that restrict the flow of blood or oxygen to the brain, including neck holds, chokeholds, and similar excessive force, deeming the use of such force a federal civil rights violation;
• Prohibit racial profiling with robust data collection on police-community encounters and law enforcement activities. Data should capture all demographic categories and be disaggregated;
• Eliminate federal programs that provide military equipment to law enforcement;
• Prohibit the use of no-knock warrants, especially for drug searches;
• Change the 18 U.S.C. Sec. 242 mens rea requirement from willfulness to recklessness, permitting prosecutors to successfully hold law enforcement accountable for the deprivation of civil rights and civil liberties;
• Develop a national public database that would cover all police agencies in the United States and its territories; and,
• End the qualified immunity doctrine that prevents police from being held legally accountable when they break the law.

The complete letter and list of signatories are available here.

COVID-19 takes life of JACL leader

LILLIAN KIMURA, 1929-2020

Lillian Kimura, the first woman to be elected National President of the Japanese American Citizens League. She was 91 years old.

According to her niece, Margaret Golden, Kimura’s death on April 23 was the result of COVID-19. She was living in New Jersey at the time of her death.

“I am deeply saddened upon hearing the news about Lillian’s passing. Lillian struck me as an extremely kind and generous person from the day we met at the EDC/MDC Bi-District Council meeting in 2007," said David Lin, JACL National President 2012-2016

"She encouraged me to serve and she mentored and coached me when I was on the National Board. And above all, she inspired me to dedicate my service to the JACL just as she had.”

Throughout her career, Kimura was a tireless advocate for civil rights through all of her work at the YWCA where she rose to the position of Associate Executive Director. 

The year of her election to the JACL leadership opened the door for resolutions condemning sexual harassment, supporting family leave, and supporting a woman’s right to choose abortion. Over the next two years, JACL increasingly supported gay rights including the right to serve in the military, culminating in a 1994 resolution supporting gay marriage.

“Lillian was a force of nature. She became JACL National President at a time when few women had broken through the glass ceiling to lead national civil rights organizations," said Karen Narasaki, former President and Executive Director of AAJC. Narasaki worked for JACL in the Washington office during Kimura's reign. 

"I learned a lot about leadership from watching her. She was one of the women executives at the YWCA that ensured that issues at the intersection of race and gender were a priority and that Asian American girls were included at the table.," Narasaki recounted.

"She had an inclusive vision of a multicultural democracy and a strong sense of the role JACL could and should play in helping to build it. Under her leadership, JACL became the first major national civil rights group of color to endorse marriage equality, long before the issue got to the Supreme Court. The nation has lost another woman warrior for equality.”

At the age of 13, Kimura and her family were incarcerated at the Manzanar WRA Center in California. Afterward her family moved to Chicago, where her long association with the YWCA began. 

Kimura attended the University of Illinois, where she earned a degree in social work and eventually moved to New York to work for the YWCA at the national level.

Kimura’s passing comes in quick succession to the loss of Helen Kawagoe, JACL’s only other female National President, and Irene Hirano Inouye, founding President/CEO for the Japanese American National Museum and the US-Japan Council. 

Carol Kawamoto, who served on the National Board with Kimura as the Pacific Southwest District Governor, praised Kimura along with Kawagoe and Hirano Inouye, “It has been very sad to lose three very strong women, Irene Hirano Inouye, Helen Kawagoe, and Lillian Kimura…JACL and community leaders and icons who passed away so close together.”

California set to apologize for incarceration of Japanese Americans

Executive Order 9066 was signed into law on Feb. 19, 1942.

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A bill from California Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, (D-Torrance) would formally apologize for the state’s role in incarcerating 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II, reports the Fresno Bee.

According to the Huff Post, the bill scheduled to be voted on February 20 is widely expected to be passed by the Assembly.

“The Assembly apologizes to all Americans of Japanese ancestry for its past actions in support of the unjust exclusion, removal, and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, and for its failure to support and defend the civil rights and civil liberties of Japanese Americans during this period,” the bill reads.

Muratsuchi says the bill is timely given Trump’s immigration policies.

“For many survivors of the Japanese American camps it strikes a deep chord. They see in many ways history repeating itself,” he said to the Fresno Bee.

The vote will come one day after the annual Day of Remembrance. The date of the vote is significant since on Feb. 19, 1942, Executive Order 9066 was signed by President Franklin Roosevelt justified the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII.

“Every February, the Japanese American community commemorates Executive Order 9066 as a reminder of the impact the incarceration experience has had on our families, our community, and our country,” the Japanese American Citizen’s League writes on its website. “It is an opportunity to educate others on the fragility of civil liberties in times of crisis, and the importance of remaining vigilant in protecting the rights and freedoms of all.”

Sunday Read: With deep forboding, we must remember Feb. 19

Years ago - before Donald Trump had his reality show - I had just written a column on the anniversary of Executive Order 9066. I distinctly remember a co-worker asking m if "I really thought" the US could incarcerate people on the basis of race again.

I said "Definitely. All that's missing are the brown shirts."

My belief that it could happen again is stronger now than it was then. Under the Trump administration, we are witnessing the rise of white supremacists coming out of the dark corners of our nation; attacks on Muslims and people of color are more commonplace; the administration's racist policies against immigrants. Separating children from their parents and then putting them in cages is no longer on the front pages and the outrage is fading. 

As if the actions of ICE and custom agents isn't bad enough, the creation of so-called elite forces of the border patrol to overcome sanctuary policies of some states and cities is ... well, I'll say it, gestapo-like.

February 19 is observed as the Day of Remembrance for Japanese Americans. On this day in 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which gave the U.S. Army the authority to remove civilians from the military zones established in Washington, Oregon, and California during WWII. 

This led to the forced removal and incarceration of some 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast, who had to abandon their jobs, their homes, and their lives to be sent to one of ten concentration camps scattered in desolate, remote regions of the country.

The day is significant today because there are forces in the US that is attempting to repeat history, using EO 9066 as the precedent for incarcerating other ethnic minorities.

"It is not enough for today to be a Day of Remembrance. It must be a day that we say no more to separating families and imprisoning children, no more spreading lies about immigrants, no more targeting of people because of where they come from or what religion they follow, and no more using the census as a weapon," says the JACL statement.

Undocumented immigrants and refugees are already being placed in detention centers.

The Trump administration is trying to enforce a ban on Muslims traveling to this country and there is a real fear that people originally from Muslim-dominated countries could be rounded up and placed in camps.

The Japanese American Civic League, which in recent years has become more active in raising its voice against actions against ethnic minorities, issued this statement about Feb. 19, a significant date for the Japanese American community. 

The JACL statement reads:

On this 77th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, we do more than just remember the Presidential order that enabled the incarceration of nearly 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans.

We remember the racism and xenophobia against Japanese and other Asian communities that led up to the issuance of Executive Order 9066.

We remember how our government lied about the national security threat that we imposed, simply because of our Japanese heritage.

We remember how our community leaders were targeted by the FBI because of the groups they were in, members of Buddhist and Shinto churches, martial arts instructors, Japanese language school teachers, and many others.

We remember how the census was used against us to identify who was Japanese and needed to be rounded up and imprisoned.

Most of all, we remember the lives impacted: the dreams ended, the families torn apart, the lives destroyed.

We remember that Japanese Americans were forced to prove their allegiance to our Constitution through the dedication of military service for a country that was imprisoning their families with no guarantee of release. We remember others who showed their patriotism by choosing to defy unconstitutional orders in support of Constitutional ideals. These are choices no one should ever have to make.

We remember all these things especially because they are now repeating today.

It is not enough for today to be a Day of Remembrance. It must be a day that we say no more to separating families and imprisoning children, no more spreading lies about immigrants, no more targeting of people because of where they come from or what religion they follow, and no more using the census as a weapon.

Just over thirty years ago, we as a country formally recognized the wrongs we had done and offered an apology to those incarcerated during the war. We should not have to make another apology for what we do now. We can correct ourselves, we can do better.

Feb. 19 shouldn't be observed only by Japanese Americans. EO9066 is a dark chapter in American history, but it is American history, nonetheless. It is a chapter that needs to taught in schools and remembered by all Americans so we can resist it and fight the hysteria behind it.

As the Japanese Americans who were imprisoned in WWII grow older and fade away, we can't forget the normal everyday Americans who imprisoned them were their neighbors who thought the actions were well-meaning. It is human nature and too easy for people to forget other peoples' rights when they act out of fear.

Witness Charlottesville. See the men with their automatic rifles take over national parks and government buildings. Watch the self-appointed vigilantes patrol the border.  Listen to the chants of "Lock her up." It doesn't take much to turn ordinary people into uncaring thugs.

For a listing of some of Day of Remembrance events scheduled around the country, please refer to the JACL website at https://jacl.org/events/day-of-remembrance/

Asian Americans at center of court battle of district elections vs. at-large elections

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Santa Clara City Council member Raj Chahal, right, was elected after district elections was imposed on Santa Clara.

Voting rights law being challenged after Asian American voted onto Santa Clara city council. 

The addition of Raj Chahal to the city council was made possible by the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA), that formed the basis of a lawsuit filed by  the Hindu American Foundation; the San Jose, Sequoia, and Silicon Valley chapters of the Japanese American Citizens League; the Vietnamese American Roundtable; and the Vietnamese Voluntary Foundation.

After the Santa Clara Superior Court ruled in favor of the lawsuit, the city was forced to move to move from at-large elections to district elections, thus allowing districts with large number of minority voters to wield their power by voting in someone who shares their cultural heritage to represent them.

Just as the city was making history with Chahal's Nov. 2018 election, the council majority -- still white -- decided to appeal the Superior Court decision.

“The city is appealing because the trial court decision was a mistake,” said city attorney Brian Doyle, adding that people in Santa Clara do not engage in racially polarized voting patterns.

“The CVRA worked exactly as it should in Santa Clara,” said Jonathan Stein of the Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus, “replacing an election system that had systematically and inarguably blocked the City’s Asian American community from achieving representation on City Council and replacing it with a district election system that immediately ended that ignominious history of exclusion.”

The legal advocacy nonprofit filed a friend of the court brief in August supporting the original lawsuit filed by the minority organizations.

The amicus brief filed by Advancing Justice -- Asian Law Caucus, discusses the history of Asian American exclusion and discrimination in this nation and in California, the impact that history has on Asian American civic participation today, and the specific ways in which courts should interpret the CVRA to enable Asian American communities to vindicate their voting rights.

The ruling from Superior Court Judge Kuhnle follows a trend seen in other California cities such as Palmdale, Poway and Santa Monica, which also were sued for allegedly violating the voting rights law.

The amicus brief can be found online here. It states in part:

"Asian Americans’ political opportunities in this state are still shaped by the exclusion experienced by generations of Californians through immigration prohibitions, denials of fundamental rights and privileges, and political districts that diminish the impact of our community’s voice. In light of the federal government’s continued assaults on voting rights across the country, the CVRA’s protections are crucial to ensure that Asian Americans and all other groups have an opportunity to elect candidates of their choice and to meaningfully participate in California’s political processes."

Santa Clara is 37 percent Asian, 36 percent white and 17 percent Hispanic, based on the 2010 census.

The statistical evidence presented at the trial a year ago shows racially polarized voting (RPV) — where minorities cannot elect candidates that aren’t favored by the city-wide majority — in five of 10 elections. The city doesn’t dispute this.

Plaintiffs are hoping the appellate court will uphold the Superior Court decision based on these facts:

• No minority has ever been elected to the Santa Clara City Council prior to district elections.
• Only white candidates preferred by most white voters won elections.
• The City retained its at-large by-seat system after being told repeatedly that it resulted in vote dilution.
• In 2016 the City Council appointed a white applicant to Council vacancy over two qualified Asian-American applicants.
• Precinct analysis of the 2016 election shows that even though almost 60 percent of Asian American voters cast their ballot for Chahal in his first attempt to get elected, Chahal still finished third in that election for two seats.

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