39th Annual San Jose Day of Remembrance

By Will KakuThe 39th Annual San Jose Day of Remembrance event commemorates the 77th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066. The order led to the forced removal and incarceration of 120,000 people of Japanese descent during World War II. Hundreds of people will gather together at this annual event not only to remember that great civil liberties tragedy but to also reflect on what that event means to all of us today.The 2019 event carries the theme "#Never Again Is Now". During the past year, the story of Japanese American incarceration has been melded into several big national stories.In June, many Americans were alarmed by the consequences of the government's "Zero-Tolerance" border policy.  People were horrified when they saw photos of children in cages and when they heard children crying for their parents who were separately held in other detention centers.   In an op-ed in the Washington Post, former First Lady Laura Bush wrote, "These images are eerily reminiscent of the Japanese American internment camps in World War II, now considered to have been one of the most shameful episodes in U.S. history."Other prominent Americans also drew stark parallels with the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans. Actor and activist, George Takei, said, "I cannot for a moment imagine what my childhood would have been like had I been thrown into a camp without my parents. That this is happening today fills me with both rage and grief: rage toward a failed political leadership who appear to have lost even their most basic humanity, and a profound grief for the families affected."Another big national story materialized a few weeks later when the United States Supreme Court reversed a series of lower court decisions by upholding the third revision of the Trump travel ban.  The decision in  Trump v. Hawaii also referred to Japanese American WW II incarceration. Justice Sonia Sotomayor scorching dissent invoked the 1944 Supreme Court case, Korematsu v. United States:"By blindly accepting the Government’s misguided invitation to sanction a discriminatory policy motivated by animosity toward a disfavored group, all in the name of a superficial claim of national security, the Court redeploys the same dangerous logic underlying  Korematsu and merely replaces one “gravely wrong” decision with another."Although the Court's five majority justices disagreed with Justice Sotomayor, the majority opinion stated that the Court now had the opportunity to "express what is already obvious: Korematsu was gravely wrong the day it was decided, has been overruled in the court of history, and—to be clear—has no place in law under the Constitution.”The San Jose Day of Remembrance event was started 39 years ago by local activists to bring awareness of the United States government's actions to forcibly remove and disrupt the Japanese American community.  The organizers, the Nihomachi Outreach Committee (NOC), also wanted to use the event to mobilize the community in support of a formal apology by the United States government.  This apology was eventually given as a part of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.As recipients of an official apology from the United States government, many Japanese Americans, as well as other Americans, feel that it is their responsibility to defend their friends, neighbors,  classmates, colleagues, and other communities when they become the target of discrimination. During these tumultuous and divisive times, ordinary people are rising up within their own communities to effect positive change. This spirit of community activism is captured in the annual San Jose Day of Remembrance event.

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San Jose Day of RemembranceSunday, February 17, 20195:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin640 North Fifth StreetSan Jose, CA

Visit www.sjnoc.org for more information.The 39th Day of Remembrance features Don Tamaki, an attorney from the Korematsu Coram Nobis legal team; Teresa Castellanos, a representative from the County of Santa Clara Office of Immigrant Relations; Chizu Omori, an activist, former internee, and co-producer of the film, "Rabbit in the Moon"; a special performance by internationally acclaimed San Jose Taiko, and the traditional candlelight procession through historic San Jose Japantown.   

2013 San Jose Day of Remembrance: The Changing Face of America

By Will KakuThe 2013 San Jose Day of Remembrance commemorates the signing of Executive Order 9066, which led to the forced incarceration of 120,000 people of Japanese descent, two-thirds of whom were American citizens.  The event will also recognize the 25^th anniversary of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. This landmark legislation stated that “a grave injustice was done to both citizens and permanent residents of Japanese ancestry by the evacuation, relocation, and internment of civilians during World War II.”To many of us in the Japanese American community, the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 demonstrated that America can be a great nation.  America can look back in painful introspection and admit our past wrongs. But because our families and our community have been the recipients of the government’s apology and redress, many of us also believe that we bear a special responsibility to uphold the lessons learned from Executive Order 9066.The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 stated that the government’s actions “were motivated largely by racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.” The reference to “prejudice” strikes a special chord with many Japanese Americans, leading us to believe that we must not be silent when we see our neighbors, friends, classmates, colleagues, and various communities become the targets of discrimination and violence. The 2013 San Jose Day of Remembrance program reflects this belief.The 2013 Day of Remembrance program, The Changing Face of America, acknowledges the changing composition of America. Many political observers have stated that the 2012 election results demonstrated a dramatic shift in the demographics of the country, citing the increasing influence of particular groups, such as Latinos, Asian Americans, African Americans, women, and younger Americans. The election also revealed some progressive gains in LGBT equality, the great civil rights struggle of this decade.Accompanying this dramatic demographic and attitudinal shift is an increased risk of backlash, intolerance, ignorance, xenophobia, and violence.  Some vocal segments of society have challenged or do not accept President Barack Obama's American origins and his Christian faith; the Muslim American community has been under special scrutiny since the terrorist attacks of 9/11; and some groups, like the Sikh community, have been the target of violent hate crimes.The Department of Justice has stated that it has “investigated over 800 incidents since 9/11 involving violence, threats, vandalism and arson against Arab-Americans, Muslims, Sikhs, South-Asian Americans and other individuals perceived to be of Middle Eastern origin.”1For the first time in San Jose Day of Remembrance history, a representative from the Sikh community, Simran Kaur, the advocacy director of the Sikh Coalition, will speak at the annual event.  The Sikh community has been a target of violence in the post-9/11 world, including the recent temple massacre in Oak Creek, Wisconsin; the 2011 double murder in Elk Grove, California; and the 2006 attempted murder in Santa Clara, California.2Other featured speakers will be Molly Kitajima, a Japanese Canadian who was incarcerated by the Canadian government during World War II; Congressman Mike Honda; and Sara Jaka from the South Bay Islamic Association. The program also includes a performance from internationally acclaimed  San Jose Taiko, a candle-lighting ceremony and remembrance, and the traditional candlelight procession through historic Japantown. The Japanese American Museum of San Jose will also have a special exhibit on display at the event. For more information, email info@sjnoc.org or visit www.sjnoc.org.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Day of Remembrance is an event that aims to bring different communities together in order to build trust, respect, and understanding among all people and to renew our pledge to fight for equality, justice, and peace. Please plan on attending to help us all remember what happened and ensure that such injustices never occur again.The Sikh Coalition was born in the aftermath of bigotry, violence and discrimination against the Sikh population following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The Sikh Coalition is a community-based organization that works towards the realization of civil and human rights for all people. In particular, the organization works towards a world where Sikhs may freely practice and enjoy their faith while fostering strong relations with their local community wherever they may be.

Echoes of Executive Order 9066

By Will KakuOn February 19, 2012, members of the San Jose community will commemorate the 70^th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 at the 32nd Annual San Jose Day of Remembrance event. The executive order eventually led to the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. The San Jose Day of Remembrance program, entitled “Civil Liberties Under Siege,” brings different communities together to remember the signing of the executive order -- which many people now acknowledge to be a great civil liberties tragedy – and attendees are encouraged to reflect on what that historical event means to their lives today.

Many people, especially within the Japanese American community, feel that important lessons can be extracted from the incarceration of Japanese Americans and that those lessons are pertinent to the issues of today.

Last week, President Obama signed the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which has a provision that allows for the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens without trial. Civil liberties groups, human rights advocates, and members of the Japanese American community have vehemently protested the signing of this bill.  Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA), a former internee from Camp Amache and a frequent speaker at the San Jose Day of Remembrance event, voted against the NDAA and said that the bill did not have sufficient changes “to ensure the Constitutional rights of every U.S. citizen.  For these reasons, I voted against the FY12 National Defense Authorization Act.”

Susan Hayase, a Nihonmachi Outreach Committee (NOC) chairperson during the redress movement and vice chairperson of the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund, commented about the dangers of the provision and drew parallels with internment. “Due process is something that my family holds precious,” Hayase said. “My entire family was detained indefinitely without charges, without a chance to defend themselves in court after being declared ‘enemy non-aliens’ by the U.S. government. We suffered deeply for this, but our American Constitution suffered even more.”Floyd Mori, national executive director of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), wrote about his concerns over the Senate bill in an op-ed for the San Jose Mercury News. Mori claimed that the bill “raises the question of whether the Senate has forgotten our history.” Mori wrote, “Although the details of the indefinite detentions of Japanese Americans during World War II and the proposed indefinite detentions of terrorism suspects may differ, the principle remains the same: indefinite detentions based on fear-driven and unlawfully substantiated national security grounds, where individuals are neither duly charged nor fairly tried, violate the essence of U.S. law and the most fundamental values upon which this country was built."In the legal arena, the significance of Japanese internment has risen in a post-9/11 world. In an article for the Kansas Law Review (“Raising the Red Flag: The Continued Relevance of the Japanese Internment in the Post-Hamdi World”), University of Colorado Law School professor Aya Gruber, a daughter of a former internee, wrote that the “reminders of the horrors of internment remain highly relevant, as the United States continues to engage regularly in armed conflict and detain thousands of people without regard to constitutional safeguards or criminal process.” She concludes that, “Defenders of civil liberties must therefore continue to raise the red flag, be vigilant about government overreaching, and passionately invoke the caution of the internment.”In the post-9/11 world, the Japanese American community has also been one of the most ardent supporters of embattled Muslim Americans. Last March, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter T. King (R-N.Y.) launched controversial hearings on radical Islam in the United States. Congressman Honda stated in an op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle, “Hundreds of thousands of innocent Japanese Americans were unjustly placed under scrutiny and suspicion because few in Washington were brave enough to say ‘no’.” Honda claimed that, “Representative King’s intent seems clear: To cast suspicion upon all Muslim Americans and to stoke the fires of anti-Muslim prejudice and Islamophobia.”Several months before the congressional hearings, the plans to build an Islamic center near the site of the World Trade Center – which some people called the “mosque near ground-zero” -- stirred many powerful emotions on both sides of the heated debate. Within the Japanese American community, there were many visible signs of support for the center and for the Muslim American community. The JACL compared the current debate to the fiery controversy surrounding the establishment of a New York City hostel that housed Japanese Americans who were trying to resettle after leaving internment camps. The JACL stated that, “In the face of war and the tragedy of September 11, it is too easy to place blame on others and allow intolerance to prevail. We must do better than to leave Muslim Americans with the impression that intolerance has no definite end. We must begin by not reinterpreting our emotions over September 11 but instead by affirming the ideals that have defined our democracy.”There are also echoes of internment in other areas that concern civil rights and discrimination. Some people have called the fight for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality the next great civil rights battle of this decade. Many legal observers have claimed that California’s battle over Proposition 8 will soon be headed to the United States Supreme Court. Japanese American individuals and organizations, such as the National JACL, Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress (NCRR), and San Jose’s NOC, have strongly endorsed marriage equality and have made direct comparisons to past discriminatory laws directed toward Japanese Americans.  Actor and activist, George Takei, drew personal comparisons with this act of discrimination to his own incarceration in an internment camp in a 2006 interview with Scott Simon on National Public Radio. Takei said, “I went to school in a black tar-paper barrack (as a child in internment camps) and began the day seeing the barbed-wire fence. Thank God those barbed-wire fences are now long gone for Japanese Americans. But I still see an invisible, legalistic barbed-wire that keeps me, my partner of 19 years, Brad Altman, and another group of Americans separated from a normal life.”Over the last several years, references to Japanese American internment and discrimination have recently made their way into many diverse issues such as airport racial profiling, the USA Patriot Act, the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act, the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, the Federal Intelligence Security Act, presidential wartime powers, and even the Texas Board of Education textbook controversy.  It is not surprising since the trauma of internment has indelibly shaped the values, attitudes, and political beliefs of many within the Japanese American community.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Each year, the Nihonmachi Outreach Committee (NOC) hosts the San Jose Day of Remembrance event. The San Jose Day of Remembrance event will be held from 5:30 p.m to 7:30 p.m, on February 19, 2012, at the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin, located at 640 N. Fifth Street, San Jose, California. For more information, visit www.sjnoc.org.