David Monkawa, has fought for justice on behalf of working people for more that two decades. Monkawa was born in Japan to a Nisei-Kibei army father before immigrating to the U.S. with his parents to Crenshaw. He was a founding member of NCRR in 1980 and also involved in the Little Tokyo People's Rights Organization (LTPRO). He worked as an organizer for the Teamsters for more than a decade. More recently, Monkawa was an NCRR staff organizer in Los Angeles. While serving in this position, he worked with Asian youth and parents in Orange County to oppose police abuse of Asian youth. He also helped organize the New Otani Workers Support Committee, which sought to improve working conditions for Asian and Latino hotel workers. He is an award-winning visual artist who has also designed NCRR posters and logos. For being a fighter that has given his all on behalf of the community, NCRR awards David Monkawa the Fighting Spirit Award!
Jim Saito, a Nisei known for his outspoken, “feisty”style, was interned at the Santa Anita Assembly Center and the Amache camp. Saito challenged the Department of Water and Power, finally winning a court case after years of struggling to gain the recognition and compensation that he deserved. Saito called the Office of Redress Administration's (ORA) attention to two Nisei groups that would have been excluded from redress. Nisei chicken sexers whose work required them to travel outside of “military zones” and Nisei veterans drafted into the military before the war were prohibited from returning to their homes to retrieve their possessions. Saito told Bob Bratt that both of these groups had “lost as much as anybody” and that the ORA should declare both groups eligible for redress. Because of Saito's efforts, both groups did receive redress. For being a fighter that has given his all on behalf of the community, NCRR awards Jim Saito the Fighting Spirit Award!