0:00:08.866,0:00:14.384
How many of you are familiar with the[br]Japanese-American incarceration?
0:00:14.384,0:00:15.577
[audience raises hands]
0:00:15.577,0:00:18.627
Oh! Thank you, and good night.[br][laughter]
0:00:18.627,0:00:21.069
You guys are wonderful.
0:00:22.031,0:00:26.055
I was a prisoner of war,[br]during World War II.
0:00:26.289,0:00:28.129
Held by my own country.
0:00:29.222,0:00:31.253
I was six years old.
0:00:31.253,0:00:36.185
This is my prison number: 125...
0:00:36.185,0:00:39.345
[checks paper][br]12524.
0:00:39.345,0:00:41.153
I'm the letter D.
0:00:41.153,0:00:43.430
My family had 12524.
0:00:45.076,0:00:48.875
My family and I were incarcerated for[br]three and a half years.
0:00:49.274,0:00:53.541
In Poston, Arizona, during World War II.
0:00:55.709,0:01:01.570
As a teacher, I would ask my students,[br]sometimes on the first day of school:
0:01:01.570,0:01:04.249
"Draw an American for me."
0:01:04.249,0:01:09.769
"Take out a piece of paper, and[br]draw an American for me. Okay?"
0:01:09.836,0:01:13.926
And then I would go around the room,[br]and check the drawings.
0:01:14.775,0:01:19.166
And sometimes, the drawings would be of[br]a stick figure.
0:01:20.932,0:01:23.236
Not much better than kindergarten.
0:01:23.236,0:01:25.952
Excuse me, Marsha.
0:01:25.952,0:01:30.382
Marsha is a kindergarten teacher, my wife.[br][audience laughs]
0:01:31.728,0:01:35.029
Draw an American for me.[br]You get somebody in mind?
0:01:35.029,0:01:36.359
Hm?
0:01:37.283,0:01:40.181
How many of you thought of drawing a[br]woman?
0:01:40.181,0:01:41.561
[audience stays silent]
0:01:41.561,0:01:43.631
Thank you.
0:01:43.631,0:01:45.821
A majority of Americans are women.
0:01:47.739,0:01:49.936
Who says it's a man's world?
0:01:50.361,0:01:52.722
Men, [laughs].
0:01:53.919,0:01:57.060
Women can do everything a man can do.[br]And more.
0:02:00.114,0:02:04.222
How many of you thought of drawing a[br]blonde, blue-eyed, hunk of a guy?
0:02:04.305,0:02:06.028
[a few people raise their hands]
0:02:06.288,0:02:09.847
Hitler would have been so proud of you.[br][audience laughs]
0:02:11.234,0:02:18.133
To many Americans, WASP is the [br]American—White Anglo-Saxon Protestant.
0:02:18.133,0:02:22.913
If you're not a White Anglo-Saxon[br]Protestant, you're not really an American.
0:02:25.793,0:02:28.589
You know, I'm not Japanese.
0:02:28.708,0:02:30.598
I've never been Japanese.
0:02:31.143,0:02:34.273
I'm an American, of Japanese ancestry.
0:02:34.273,0:02:38.473
My father was Japanese, my mother was[br]Japanese, but I'm not Japanese.
0:02:39.404,0:02:44.086
When I go to Japan, and I speak,[br]they laugh and they go:
0:02:44.096,0:02:46.266
"We don't talk like that anymore."
0:02:46.279,0:02:49.755
They know I'm a 外人 (Gai-jin),[br]a foreigner.
0:02:50.642,0:02:52.641
When I was in London, shopping,
0:02:52.641,0:02:55.114
and I had a nice conversation with[br]the sales lady,
0:02:55.114,0:02:57.454
and at the end she says:[br]"Oh, you Yanks."
0:02:57.801,0:03:01.481
She's looking at me, and I'm a Yank.
0:03:03.041,0:03:08.553
But in this country—parts of this country—[br]I'm a damned Jap.
0:03:10.476,0:03:12.517
And I don't mean just the South.
0:03:13.501,0:03:18.941
There are parts of Idaho,[br]Montana, North Dakota and such.
0:03:19.295,0:03:21.503
It's kind of dangerous for me to travel.
0:03:23.318,0:03:26.762
Racism still prevails in this country.
0:03:27.470,0:03:35.735
After 9/11—the attack on the twin towers[br]in New York—there was talk about
0:03:36.000,0:03:41.159
rounding up all the Arabs and Muslim[br]Americans in this country, and
0:03:41.552,0:03:44.728
incarcerating them in concentration camps.
0:03:45.055,0:03:52.615
Now to his credit, George W. Bush—the[br]president—he, called the Cabinet meeting.
0:03:52.974,0:03:55.082
And he told his Cabinet members:
0:03:55.254,0:03:59.705
"We're not going to do, to the Arab and[br]Muslim Americans in this country,
0:03:59.705,0:04:03.088
what we did to Norm Mineta[br]and his family."
0:04:03.499,0:04:08.545
And all talk, about rounding up the Arab[br]and Muslims, stopped.
0:04:09.102,0:04:11.203
And we were grateful.
0:04:11.432,0:04:20.895
Now, why was Norm, his family, and 120,000[br]Japanese and Japanese-Americans
0:04:21.327,0:04:27.754
—two-thirds were American citizens—from[br]Washington, Oregon, and California,
0:04:27.844,0:04:32.507
incarcerated after the attack on[br]Pearl Harbour?
0:04:33.341,0:04:40.493
Well, Cabrillo College instructor,[br]Sandy Lydon—historian emeritus—
0:04:40.493,0:04:46.494
said the Japanese strawberry farmer of[br]Watsonville had nothing to do with the
0:04:46.494,0:04:48.294
attack on Pearl Harbour.
0:04:48.822,0:04:54.188
Did you know that there were 158,000[br]Japanese and Japanese-Americans
0:04:54.188,0:04:58.438
living in the territory of Hawaii—it[br]wasn't a state yet—
0:04:58.438,0:05:02.828
who were not incarcerated, [br]with the exception of about 2,000.
0:05:03.685,0:05:06.005
They're in the war zone.
0:05:06.365,0:05:10.452
Well they needed the Japanese and[br]Japanese-Americans in Hawaii
0:05:10.717,0:05:13.217
to run the economy of Hawaii.
0:05:13.492,0:05:20.840
They were the plurality, they were 37% of[br]the population—census was taken in 1940.
0:05:22.716,0:05:26.207
Their general Evman said it's not[br]necessary to do this.
0:05:26.207,0:05:29.739
There is no plans for sabotage.
0:05:30.601,0:05:36.532
We, who were 2,500 miles away from[br]the war zone, we get incarcerated.
0:05:38.039,0:05:39.719
Why?
0:05:40.452,0:05:44.755
I have to take you back a little bit, in[br]American history.
0:05:46.256,0:05:49.976
United States Constitution legalized[br]slavery.
0:05:50.979,0:05:56.559
The U.S. government condoned,[br]and practiced racism.
0:05:57.358,0:06:01.161
The Naturalization act in 1790,
0:06:01.161,0:06:06.037
Asians, could not become citizens of[br]the United States.
0:06:06.432,0:06:08.723
The Cherokee Nation.
0:06:09.135,0:06:11.281
You've heard of the trail of tears?
0:06:11.281,0:06:13.854
They were forced, out of their homes.
0:06:14.334,0:06:21.671
Dred Scott decision, he was a slave.[br]Even free territory.
0:06:22.388,0:06:26.918
There was an anti-Irish catholic mentality[br]in this country.
0:06:26.918,0:06:33.558
There were signs that were printed,[br]and displayed: 'No Irish Need Apply.'
0:06:35.156,0:06:39.314
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.
0:06:39.578,0:06:41.592
Plessy vs. Ferguson.
0:06:41.592,0:06:43.204
Separate but equal.
0:06:43.204,0:06:45.430
How can the separate be equal?
0:06:46.501,0:06:50.330
A. Mitchell Palmer Raids, 1919-1920.
0:06:50.330,0:06:57.849
The communists, and, and Jews too,[br]were deported without trial.
0:06:57.849,0:07:00.670
Just placed on a ship and shipped out.
0:07:02.998,0:07:06.800
Immigration Act of 1924.
0:07:07.939,0:07:11.359
Japanese could not come to this country[br]anymore.
0:07:11.691,0:07:14.431
Fred Korematsu case.
0:07:16.115,0:07:21.349
Our history is a history of racism.
0:07:21.355,0:07:27.205
Discrimination regarding immigration[br]as well.
0:07:29.510,0:07:35.658
In the early 20th century, it was said in[br]the newspapers—Examiner, The Chronicle,
0:07:35.658,0:07:39.409
The McClatchy papers, you know,[br]Sacramento Bee, Fresno Bee, and
0:07:39.409,0:07:43.449
The Sentinel—that the Japanese race is[br]an alien race which can never be
0:07:43.449,0:07:45.689
assimilated into the American way of life.
0:07:45.690,0:07:49.570
There is nothing of value, of[br]Japanese culture.
0:07:51.926,0:07:54.086
Nothing of value.
0:07:55.685,0:07:58.269
How many of you have eaten sushi?
0:07:58.269,0:08:01.009
[audience laughs][br]Oh yeah, sushi's good for you.
0:08:01.009,0:08:02.979
What about bonsai?
0:08:02.979,0:08:05.084
Ikebana flower arranging?
0:08:05.084,0:08:05.964
Origami?
0:08:07.432,0:08:10.662
Wax on, wax off?[br][audience laughs]
0:08:10.662,0:08:10.912
Karate?
0:08:12.965,0:08:16.270
Ah, Japanese culture is rich.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And so many enjoy participating in[br]Japanese culture.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
To make sure the Japanese did not[br]assimilate into this country,
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
laws were passed.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Asians could not own property,[br]marry whites,
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
become citizens of the United States.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The attack on Pearl Harbour,[br]December 7th, 1941.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
John L. DeWitt, commander of the western ___,[br]as his fourth army.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
At the Presidio of San Francisco.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Had the ear of the President of[br]the United States.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
He said: "A Jap's a Jap."
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
"It makes no difference whether that Jap[br]is a citizen or not."
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
J. Edgar Hoover said: "Mr. President,[br]we don't need to do this."
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Francis Biddle who was the Attorney[br]General at the time said:
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
"Mr. President, I don't think we[br]can do this."
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
There were no lawsuits filed[br]on our behalf.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Executive Order 9066, was past[br]75 years ago.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
You know, there was one group, nationally,[br]one group, that supported us.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The American Quakers.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The American friends.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
They're the only ones.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Nationally, not even the ACLU (American[br]Civil Liberties Union) supported us.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Locally, luckily, we had some friends.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
City attorney of Watsonville, with John[br]McCarthy.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Our police chief, Matt Graves.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
School teachers, public school teachers.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And many others supported us.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
You know, the reward, they were called[br]'Jap Lovers' for supporting us.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
They had their homes and cars vandalized.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And they were among the very first to[br]welcome us back.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We had some very dear friends.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In 1942, our homes were searched,[br]without search warrants.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The FBI came into our homes—they got[br]the information from the Bureau of
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the Census.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The Bureau of the Census is not supposed[br]to do that.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We were hacked.[br][laughs]
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
There were no trials, except for four[br]people.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But for the rest of us, we had no charges,
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
no attorneys, no due process of law.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
[shows paper] This, the Constitution[br]of the United States,
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
ceased to exist for us.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
From camp—there were ten major camps—[br]and from camps,
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
our men and women volunteered to[br]serve in the United States Armed Forces.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The men—many of them were in the[br]hundred 442nd Regimental Combat Team,
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the most decorated army unit for size[br]and length of service.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
My two brothers were in the MIS—[br]Military Intelligence Service—
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
because they couldn't read and[br]write Japanese.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
They went to Japanese school after[br]high school each day.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
They fought against the Japanese.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We used the Japanese language as a weapon,[br]against the Japanese.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The MIS stayed after the war,
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
with the restoration,[br]occupation restoration of Japan.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Their service during the war saved[br]countless American and Japanese lives.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It is estimated that it shortened the[br]war by two years.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Congress formally acknowledged the work
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
of the hundred 442nd and MIS, with[br]a Congressional Gold Medal.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And we're grateful.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Our forced removal was illegal.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Right?
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
No.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
No.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It's legal.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The government of United States can[br]evict anyone from their homes.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
If, under the guise of[br]"military necessity."
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Today, we won't use that term.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We'll use the term "national security."
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Congress and the president apologized[br]for our wartime experience.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Civil Liberties Act was passed on[br]August 10th, 1988.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We have an official apology.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
You know, of the 120,000[br][laughs]
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the government expected 60,000 to have[br]died, and 60,000 were still alive.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But we fooled them.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
80,000 of us were still alive.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
You see, sushi is good for you.[br][laughter]
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
There's only one race,
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that's the human race.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
There are those who wish to classify us.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Oh, you're Caucasian American,
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
you're Asian American,
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
you're Hispanic American,
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Black American.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
There's only one race
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
You know dogs, we call them German[br]Shepards, French Poodles,
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and Chihuahuas.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
They go to anybody, huh.[br]Right?
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
They're colorblind.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I wish humans were colorblind.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
[sighs]
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Today, the present administration
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
is constantly issuing new executive[br]orders, policies regarding immigration.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Contrary to the spirit of America.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Fortunately—now—we have the Southern[br]Poverty Law Center,
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the American Civil Liberties Union.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We have so many groups and individuals
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
supporting what really is of[br]true America.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Something we didn't see in 1942.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Will it happen again?
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Memory is short.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
No.[br]Not under the guise of military necessity.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So who's the biggest threat?
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Some suspect it will be the reporters and[br]producers of fake news.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
[laughs]
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It doesn't have to be an individual[br]or group.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
A national group, a racial group.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It could be an occupation.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The days of Walter Cronkite, the conscious[br]of America, are long gone.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Now we have the internet, radio talk[br]show hosts, TV commentators.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I'm grateful to be living here in[br]Santa Cruz county.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The second most liberal county in[br]the nation.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
You know, if you know the history of Santa[br]Cruz city, it wasn't always that way.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Yeah, minorities were not welcomed in[br]Santa Cruz.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Growing up, I didn't come to[br]Santa Cruz very often.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But that all changed.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
How?
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Thanks to Cabrillo College.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And the University of Santa Cruz—[br]University of California, at Santa Cruz.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The intelligentsia came.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And it changed the whole county.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Today, this is the most wonderful place[br]in the whole world to live.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And I kid you not.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Gordon Hirabayashi.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
He was a student at the[br]University of Washington.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
A Quaker.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
He was arrested, convicted, imprisoned.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The prosecuting attorneys lied[br]to the judges.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Yeah, he spent some time.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Now, his conviction was vacated.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Not overturned, vacated.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Gordon Hirabayashi said:[br]"Ancestry is not a crime."
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Today we would add:[br]"Islam is not a crime."
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
With our newfound energy, we have[br]a lot of work to do.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
You know those, gentlemen who live not[br]too far from Charlottesville, Virginia,
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
at a place called Monticello.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Thomas Jefferson,
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
"Eternal vigilance is a price of liberty."
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It's up to us, all of us, to work in[br]peace, and harmony, compassion,
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
To overcome hate and bigotry.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And we can do it.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Thank you.
9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
[audience applause]