Entrevistas
Getting Jim Wright to sponsor the bill
Jim Wright was at that time the majority leader, and -- no, I'm sorry, he was whip at the time. And so I went to ask him and he was a fighter pilot in the South Pacific, and he came home on leave in 1944, and then he heard about the camps and the Japanese Americans in the camps and all that. And he said he thought to himself, "That's not what I was fighting for in the South Pacific," and he said at that time that at some point he wanted to do something to correct that wrong. He said, "That's not right."
So when I got elected to Congress, I got elected to the Public Works and Transportation Committee, Jim Wright, congressman from Texas was on the Public Works and Transportation Committee. And we got to talking a lot, and got to be good friends, and then he got elected to go up in the leadership. So on this bill, I went back to him and I said, "Jim, I really need your help." And then he told me about the "Lost Battalion" and how the 442nd/100th had lost a lot of blood to, to get the rescue of the "(Lost) Battalion." He said, "Absolutely, put me on the bill." And I said, "I'm not going to put you on the bill. I need you as the lead sponsor," and he said, "Fine, put me as the lead sponsor."
So to have the number three in the Democratic leadership as the lead sponsor on the bill was a big boost. So you'd go and say, "Jim Wright's on this bill," especially with the southern members. So when, after the bill was passed and the commission was formed, and they had these national hearings across the country, I don't know how many hearings they had, maybe twenty, twenty-five.
I*: Yeah, I want to go back to, so after you, you had Jim Wright agree to that, what kind of reaction, how did you feel when you decided to do that? That must have been a really important moment.
Well, it was just great. Jim said he would sign on the bill, so just thanked him profusely, shook his hand, Glen and I walked out of his office, we didn't say a thing. And just kept walking, turned the corner, we got into the elevator, and we got into the elevator and going, "Yes! We got Jim Wright as the sponsor of the bill!" And we were just sitting there inside the elevator by ourselves hugging and thinking, "Jim Wright is on the bill with us." It was really a big moment for us.
* "I" indicates an interviewer (Tom Ikeda).
Fecha: July 4, 2008
Zona: Colorado, US
Entrevista: Tom Ikeda
País: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum
Explore More Videos
Ser justo (Inglés)
(n. 1926) Político del partido Demócrata y Gobernador de Hawaii por tres términos
El rol de Hawái internacionalmente (Inglés)
(n. 1926) Político del partido Demócrata y Gobernador de Hawaii por tres términos
Relación con S.I. Hayakawa (Inglés)
(1926 - 2012) Sabio y profesor de antropología, estableció los estudios étnicos como una disciplina académica
Lazos del pasado hacia la situación actual en el Medio Oriente (Inglés)
(1926 - 2012) Sabio y profesor de antropología, estableció los estudios étnicos como una disciplina académica
La importancia de la educación para alcanzar los desagravios por los encarcelamientos (Inglés)
(1919-2014) Activista de derechos humanos y reparación para los americanos de descencia japonesa que estuvieron encarcelados durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
Recuperar la ciudadanía (Inglés)
(n. 1909) Nisei del estado de Washington. Quién fue encarcelado en Tule Lake y Minidoka durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Se restablecio en la ciudadad de Chicago despúes de la Segunda Guerra Mundial
Compensación denegada como japonés-peruano (Inglés)
(1930-2018) Nisei nacido en Perú. Llevado a los Estados Unidos durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial
Recibir una reacción negativa de mi padre al preguntarle sobre su experiencia en la Segunda Guerra Mundial (Inglés)
(n. 1939) Pintor, grabador y profesor universitario japonés
Reflexiones sobre la compensación (Inglés)
(n. 1923) Nisei de Washington. Se resistió a ser reclutado durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial
Movimiento por el reclamo de compensaciones (Redress Movement) en Canadá (Inglés)
(n.1924) Japonés-canadiense nisei . Intérprete del Ejército Británico en Japón después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Participa activamente en la colectividad japonesa-canadiense.
La falta de poder político llevó a los campos (Inglés)
(1924-2018) Investigadora, Activista
Experiencias positivas con Asian Americans for Action (Inglés)
(1924-2018) Investigadora, Activista
Pagos de compensación a isseis que no estuvieron en los campos (Inglés)
(1924-2018) Investigadora, Activista
Esperando el momento justo para empezar el Redress Movement (Inglés)
(1924-2018) Investigadora, Activista