May 1990

              Page 2
Redress Monitor
May 1990
Editor's Message
As Rochelle and I were working
on this issue of the Redress Monitor,
the final one that she and I will be
putting out, we wanted to be sure that
we included up-dates and status
reports on as many Redress activities
as we could. We also found ourselves
thinking and talking with others
about what we have learned in our
work on redress that can be building
blocks for the future.
From the perspective of the
longest tenured staff person in this
office, Rochelle shares some of her
thoughts on this theme elsewhere in
this newsletter. She began work for
JACL in March 1985 — even before
LEC became operational in October
of that year — and officially came on
the LEC payroll last August. Rochelle has provided the continuity and
organizational memory for our office.
She made it possible for me to "hit
the ground running" when I arrived
last May just as the 1990 appropriations process was gearing up. For her
Th* Redress Monitor
JoAnne H. Kagiwada
Editor-in-Chief
Rochelle Wandzura
Production Manager
Typesetting and Layout by
Stacy
Kagiwada
contributions to the redress effort, I
am very grateful.
Scholars studying the political
process have noted with respectful
disbelief that a small group of ethnic
Americans, concentrated largely on
the West Coast, and not known for its
political activism, somehow persuaded the American body politic
that the injustice resulting from
government actions almost fifty years
ago were egregious violations of
constitutional guarantees that merited
a formal government apology and
symbolic monetary compensation.
The Kennedy School of Government
is developing a course study to be
used in a required introductory class
for its Masters Degree program. The
Brookings Institution has expressed
interest in including an account of the
achievement of entitlement in an
upcoming book on the Congressional
appropriations process.
In her last "Message from the
Editor," then-Executive Director Rita
Redress Event
at JACL
San Diego
Convention
To close the 1990 National JACL
Convention in San Diege, California,
a Sayonara Banquet and Ball will be
held Friday evening, 22 June 1990, at
6:30 p.m. at the San Diego Princess
Resort Hotel. A program of awards,
installation of new National JACL
Officers, and a very special Redress
recognition program to honor key
legislators and other contributors
with grass-roots participation is
anticipated. Come and join in the
celebration of the long awaited
Redress. To register see page 19 for
reservation form.
Takahashi expressed her gratitude for
the opportunity to work with "many
individuals and groups who are
committed to principles of equity and
justice and high standards of integrity
and ethics." Because of their membership strength in the Northeast and
Southeast, the Washington coalition
of church and civil rights groups
greatly expanded our lobbying
capabilities and was critical in getting
the support of key legislators. During
the appropriations process last year,
they called regularly to ask what they
could do to help because they
believed strongly in the justice of the
the redress effort. Rita has written a
guest editorial for this issue, which
calls us to further efforts to achieve
justice for all.
Senator Spark Matsunaga was a
sterling example of that kind of
principled commitment. The
senator's legislative agenda often
coincided with my mandate during
the years I was Director of International Affairs for the Disciples of
Christ denomination. The same
church lobbying community that
gave its enthusiastic support to
redress had for many years supported
his efforts to establish a national
peace academy, which finally
resulted in the establishment of the
U.S. Institute for Peace in 1984. His
actions reflected with integrity his
vision of peace and justice in the
world, and that is a proud legacy for
us to live up to.
Even as the drafters of the U.S.
Constitution recognized that the
nation could only hope to achieve "a
more perfect Union," we know that
we cannot achieve perfect justice in
carrying out our organizational goals
to promote civil, constitutional and
human rights in this country. But as
Rita reminds us, we are responsible,
individually and in our work together, to "uphold the very principles
for which we struggle."