2008 marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Liberties Act (CLA) of 1988 by President Ronald Reagan. This legislation authorized a governmental apology and reparations to the surviving Japanese American former inmates of America’s World War II concentration camps and to other Japanese Americans who were affected by the forced removal and incarceration. Over 82,000 survivors received the President’s apology and $20,000 reparations.

The passage of the CLA is attributed in great part to the community’s united effort in a decade-long redress campaign. The Japanese American community organizations included the Nikkei for Civil Rights & Redress (NCRR), the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), and the National Council for Japanese American Redress (NCJAR). They galvanized support from numerous ethnic, religious and social justice organizations.

To recognize the community’s participation in the redress campaign, the 2008 DOR committee decided on the theme, “From the Commission Hearings to the Civil Liberties Act and Beyond . . .Unleashing Community Voices: The Power of Grassroots Activism.”  Also, the program focused on one of the community organizations, NCRR, for its leadership in community grassroots activism.

From NCRR’s founding conference in 1980, its principles of unity included (1) a demand for monetary reparations to all Japanese American former inmates for their unconstitutional imprisonment during World War II, (2) an education fund for continued education about the incarceration, and (3) the support of others who may suffer similar injustices. It’s contributions to the 1981 Los Angeles Commission Hearings were vital to the hearings’ success: calling, encouraging, and assisting former internees in preparing their testimony; providing simultaneous translation, arranging transportation when needed, and requesting evening hearings for those who worked during the day.

In addition, NCRR’s grassroots activism from 1980 to the present included dozens of community educational meetings, letter writing campaigns, community lobbying delegations, tabling at community events, and gathering support from various sectors of the larger community.

To reflect the empowerment of community members through grassroots activism and its importance in social and political movements, NCRR invited performance artist and arts director Traci Kato Kiriyama to create and direct a performance piece about the “Unleashing of Community Voices.” Traci recruited NCRR members to share how they became involved with NCRR, the redress campaign, and other social justice issues. She added the exciting sounds of Progressive Taiko to contribute to this community collaboration. A highlight of the Taiko performance was the drummers’ “solo” with the surprise guest drummer, Craig Ishii, the DOR’s co-emcee and Director of the PSWD/JACL. June Kizu, a former co-chair of NCRR who testified on behalf of NCRR at the 1981 Los Angeles Commission Hearings, was the other co-emcee.

The standing-room only audience was composed of a wide range of age groups and a diverse demographic. The large number of young people was likely attributable to the important participation of student leaders from three college Nikkei student organizations. Stacey Iwata (UCSD), Penny Ishizuka (USC) and Frank Hiroyasu (UCR) spoke about each campus’ Nikkei organization and the importance of the Day of Remembrance at each college.

J-Town Voice, a community organization, which focuses on cultural and community preservation, also participated in the DOR program. Representative Kenyan Maeda spoke about their concern over the recent sales of the Japanese Village Plaza and the New Otani Hotel with little or no community knowledge. Maeda urged audience members to get involved and stay informed to help preserve the community.

Congressman Xavier Becerra (D-31), a long-time supporter and advocate for the Japanese Latin Americans (JLAs) and who recently introduced HR 662, legislation calling for federal hearings on the wartime abduction and incarceration of Japanese Latins during World War II, was not able to attend. Christine Oh presented the update for Congressman Becerra and for the Campaign for Justice: Justice Now for Japanese Latin Americans. Oh, the coordinator for CFJ, urged the audience to help in this push for justice for JLAs by writing their congressional representatives and donating to the campaign.

For the first time, the DOR committee invited community artists to participate in the DOR by contributing a design for the 2008 DOR poster that would reflect the program’s theme. Of the pieces submitted, the design created by Karl Tani was selected to represent this year’s program. Karl’s design was used for the DOR printed program and the DOR postcard. His poster, as well as the posters of David Monkawa, Qris Yamashita, and Mike Nakayama, was displayed at the program.

Also, NCRR announced the launch of the DOR Archives on its website, www.ncrr-la.org. The archive shows NCRR’s DOR posters from 1982 to the present and provides information about each year’s program.

To close this year’s DOR, the Korean Resource Center’s drumming and dance troupe HanNuRi performed a traditional worship ritual for the well being of family and community. Their rousing performance included drumming, dance and accompanying singing. It honored the past activism of Japanese Americans against the wartime injustices, encouraged future activism, and presented best wishes for a peaceful Lunar New Year.

After the program, community members stayed for a reception and visited the organizations’ information and memorabilia tables. The organizers of this year’s program were NCRR, Pacific Southwest District/JACL and the Japanese American National Museum (JANM).  Sponsors of the DOR included 12 local JACL chapters and several other community organizations.

"Karl Tani"
See: Karl Tani Bio

"student leaders from three"  
See: Rafu20080220DORMarks30thAnniv (pdf)