Thank you!

Today, the 2006 Day of Remembrance, we remember our community's shared past and the devastating impact of E09066 that has dramatically affected so many generations of Japanese Americans and our entire community.

Today, we solemnly remember the Issei and Nisei who endured the public and personal humiliation of being accused of being the enemy, and because of supposed "military necessity" were rounded up like cattle and herded off to filthy stables. The Issei and Nisei did endure, and most survived to rebuild their lives after Word War II in the face of continued racism and hostility.

Each year we dedicate the Day of Remembrance to our community's elders who have passed before us. We remember them with respect and gratitude. During the past year, we have lost many more, including several key NCRR members that will be mentioned in my comments.

The theme of this year's DOR is Claiming History: Justice Along Color Lines. As people of color we have suffered the results of the majority community's racial prejudice and economic greed. Japanese Americans lost what is estimated in the billions of dollars of land and property as a result of the unconstitutional forced removal. The emotional, personal consequences are immeasurable. The Mexican American community, we have come to learn, faced similar treatment one decade before - for reasons very similar to that of the Japanese Americans. Why did most of us not know about this?

An NCRR core member and a member of the DOR planning committee, Tom Satoshi Hayashi, brought the astounding issue of the 1930's forced repatriation of Mexican Americans to NCRR. He pushed us to pursue this, and the issue of African American reparations, with the hope of educating others about it and working on the reparations campaign. One of his concerns was about the rising conflict between young Black and Brown students at the local high schools. He wanted them to know their history, that they should not be enemies, that they share similar obstacles.

A former inmate of America's concentration camp at Amache, Colorado, Tom spent his life in service of others. As a counselor with the Catholic Youth Organization, he worked with Black and Hispanic gang members. He worked with the African American community and was one of the forces behind the preservation of the Watts Towers. He worked at the California Youth Authority, the East LA Community Service Organization and the Central City Action Committee. It is no wonder that he kept pushing NCRR to pursue the issues of reparations for Mexican Americans and African Americans. He epitomizes the spirit of NCRR's principle of working with other communities who have faced similar struggles. Tom passed away in December.

In "claiming history" the Japanese American community had to first discover and then claim our true history. Fred Korematsu was among the few who challenged E09066 in 1942 by resisting the order to "evacuate" and he ended up in jail for not obeying the government's command. The courts at that time upheld the government's unconstitutional treatment of Japanese Americans and Fred's conviction.

It was not until 1984 that Korematsu's conviction was annulled based on proof that the government suppressed critical information that proved that there was no "military need" to forcibly remove all Japanese Americans from the West Coast. The 1940's government had essentially lied to the Supreme Court.

Not long ago, Fred sat here and spoke about civil rights. He continued speaking out despite his fragile health. His historic case is taught in law schools. Our friend and NCRR member Fred Korematsu passed away last April.

The legacy of redress includes his story and 112,000 more - real stories with similar elements, but each unique and difficult. During redress, we learned about Japanese Latin Americans who were abducted from South America to be used by our government as hostages for prisoner of war exchange. Their struggle continues as we will hear today. We learned about the desperate conditions faced by Japanese American railroad and mine workers who were fired by the railroads in 1942. Because they lived in inland states such as Utah and Wyoming, they had not been forced into camps. So, after being fired they were kicked out of company housing. They had nowhere to live, nowhere to go. During the 1990's, redress was denied to these victims and more. NCRR supported them in their fight for reparations through the courts and through administrative remedies. We have also learned more about the 5000 German Latin Americans, the 11,000 German Americans and the many Italian Americans who were also incarcerated at Crystal City, Texas, also to be used as prisoners of war.

The Roosevelt administration suppressed information in 1942 that essentially vindicated Japanese Americans and demonstrated that there was no "Military Necessity" to remove them. The naval intelligence reports stated that, the Munson Report stated that, and even FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover agreed that there was no need to remove all Japanese Americans. The administration did not share that critical information with Congress or the Courts.

Today, under our current administration we learned through news leaks about domestic surveillance without proper "warrants". Our administration did not give us this information. They are now, because of news leaks, forced to admit their actions to Congress, and they bypassed the Courts. Does this sound like shades of 1942?

Despite, the passage of the 1988 Civil Liberties Act which led to the issuance of 82,900 government apologies and monetary reparations, there remain those who continue to support the government's internment of Japanese Americans, and those who say that this action was justified...that in desperate times, civil liberties can be shelved. Those who are trying to rewrite history are deflecting attention from potential wrong-doing and injustice again being committed by our leaders. We cannot let that happen.

The very foundation of our country is the system of checks and balances provided in the Constitution. How can we trust our government when the Executive branch acts with such disregard of Congress and the Courts?? The integrity of our government and of our nation is at stake. The system failed us, it failed Mexican Americans in the 1930's, and it is failing many Americans today!

The legacy of the unconstitutional incarceration during World War II and of the redress movement - is that each of us needs/has rights as promised in the Constitution. And, likewise, each of us has responsibilities to secure those rights for ourselves and for others. If we aren't vigilant - who will be? Let's stay informed and participate in local, state and national issues. Bad things happen when people are passive and just accept things. Remember, only the Quakers and the Northern California ACLU stood by us during World War II.

Be a volunteer and activist - like Sox Kitashima, a Bay area NCRR member. In the 1940's, she and her family were incarcerated at Topaz, Utah. In the 1980's and 1990's Sox became one of the redress movement's greatest activists. She worked tirelessly to lobby for legislation and she aided hundreds of Japanese Americans to apply for redress. She even went to a state prison to make sure that one former internee would receive redress. Sox passed away on December 29.

The experiences of our parents, grandparents and of the entire community have given us a responsibility and a challenge: to use their collective experience and the lessons we have learned for the good of others and other communities. Like Fred Korematsu, you may have to challenge the highest courts - or like Tom Hayashi, you may work to help those with great need. Or, you may participate by calling or writing your elected leaders. Get to know your elected officials; they represent you. Volunteer to work on the push for a Commission to investigate the 1930's deportation of Mexican Americans.

They too, are seeing on-going attacks on their community. The issue of immigration has hit the Mexican American community very hard. Today, February 18, in Arizona there is a large demonstration against the vigilantism of the Minutemen brigades who have taken it upon themselves to threaten and police the immigrant community. Representative Sensenbrenner's HR4437 also threatens the rights of anyone whose skin is brown, and therefore threatens ALL of us.

We are very pleased to share this Day of Remembrance with our friends in the Mexican American community. We have stood side by side in labor struggles since the early 1900's, and we had your support during the redress campaign. And we would like to continue to support your efforts in seeking justice.

I'll close with the words of Sox Kitashima:
" My fervent hope is that people - be they Japanese Americans or others never forget what the redress movement was about and what an enormous battle it was for us to achieve vindication. The road to redress was unpaved and rocky, a ten-year quest full of obstacles and disappointments. Yet, we hung on because we believed in justice. And justice did finally prevail."                     

Thank you.