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Featured Story: NCRR 9/11 Committee: Remembers & Connects
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| NCRR members attend Muslim Public Affairs Council picnic in May. |
By Mike Yanagita and
Kathy Masaoka
Since the candlelight vigil in Little Tokyo, the NCRR 9/11 Committee has been actively developing closer relationships between Muslim and Arab American community organizations. Aside from the “Break the Fast” event at Senshin Buddhist Temple, in early December we joined the Burbank/Glendale chapters of MPAC at a picnic in Sierra Madre. Reverend Mas Kodani invited the attendees to the Senshin obon in July and a few were able to join the dancing. MPAC also invited our members to its Awards Dinner where individuals were recognized for their contributions to positive media images of Muslims. NCRR was thanked for its support of the Muslim community.
We have been involved in an ongoing process of educating ourselves and people in our own community about the issues facing Muslim and Arab Americans. After the Day of Remembrance program, ”l942 and 2002 - Without Due Process,” the committee sponsored a program on peace in the Middle East with Kamal Abu-Shamsieh, an Israeli speaker, Yosshi Khen and Cr. Mahmoud lbrahim of Cal Poly Pomona who explained the history of the current conflict and the efforts to establish a lasting peace. We hope to better understand these issues so that we may be a viable force in protecting and ensuring the civil liberties of all people and help promote peace in the Middle East.
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| Little Tokyo candle lite vigil for the victims of 9-11. |
We feel it is important for everyone to understand these issues as it affects our relationship with other communities. We need to guard against another mass relocation of a people based solely on race does not occur again since the basis for the camps has not been overturned. There are still many in this country who look upon anyone who comes from a different country, religion or culture with suspicion and fear. This can easily Iead to another mass hysteria should any other terrorist attack happen. The better educated we are, the more communication we establish and the more understanding we have of each other, the more protection we will have from further injustices.
The NCRR 9/11 Committee plans to continue to deepen its relationships with MPAC,ADC,CAIR and SAN through such events as a women’s gathering, a “Break the Fast” during Ramadan. The committee is open to helping with speakers and educationals. The next event will be a film showing of hate crimes against South Asians sometime in the fall.
Some things people can do:
1) Get involved. There are lots of organizations which are actively working to promote peace in the Middle East.
2) Log on to the websites of these organizations: mpac.org, cair-net.org, icujp
3) Write / e-mail your congressperson-communication through the internet has become a powerful tool.
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| NCRR Muslim gathering join in discussion of breaking the fast. |
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An NCRR Statement: Remembering August 10, 1988
August 10, 1988, was a historic day, for it symbolized hope that our country has perhaps learned a lesson about protecting the rights of its citizens and other residents during times of great crisis. It should be remembered by Japanese Americans and all Americans as much as February 19, 1942. August 10 was the date on which the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 (CLA) was signed into law, which was our... Read more...
Redress And The Recreation Center
 Open Forum Commentary: An NCRR Statement.
The redress and reparations campaign and the current campaign to build a recreation center in Little Tokyo on First Street North have a lot in common. When the Rafu Shimpo surveyed the community on the question of whether people wanted individual compensation, an... Read more...
Why Little Tokyo Needs a Gymnasium (And Not Just an Art Park)
 Open Forum Commentary: By Bill Watanabe.
The battlelines for debate are drawn and are clear—does Little Tokyo need an Art Park (with no gym on it) or would Little Tokyo better be served by a smaller Art Park with a multi-court gymnasium on it? The Public Hearing called by Councilmember Jan Perry which took place on June 20, 2002 at the... Read more...
What’s Best for Little Tokyo
 Open Forum Commentary: By George Takei
In recent months, the Little Tokyo community has been em-broiled in a debate over the building of a park and a gymnasium on the City-owned block bounded by First Street, Alameda, Temple and Judge John Aiso Streets. This conflict should have been avoidable. The Japanese American National Museum and the major stakeholders on the contested block, the East West Players, the... Read more...
Architect Unveils New Rec Center Plan
 Hayahiko Takase, project architect for the Little Tokyo Recreation Center, unveiled a new concept that would place the gymnasium complex underground at First Street North at a meeting Tuesday of the Little Tokyo Community Council held at the Japanese American National Museum. Takase, whose projects include the Kajima Building, Higashi Hongwanji Temple and New Otani Hotel. said the new plans came... Read more...
Redress Still Alive
 Although it has been 14 years since the Liberties Act (CLA) of 1988, the fight for redress still goes on. Japanese Latin Americans (JLAs) and many Japanese Americans have been unjustly denied redress for technical reasons. In addition, Congress had intended that $50 million be used for public education about the World War II experiences of Japanese Americans, but only $5 million was actually appropriated. The federal government said there were insufficient funds... Read more...
27 Graduate From Summer Activist Training
Another successful Summer Activist Training was held at the end of June with 27 young people who were eager to learn more about organizing and community work. Some of the youth came from as far away as Philadelphia, Penn. and were involved with an organization called Asian Americans United in the Chinatown area. More people applied for the training this year and we expect an equal number next year as activism among young people increases. The SAT was sponsored by five... Read more...
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