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 <i>not</i> 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 <i>be</i> 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?

0:08:07.262,0:08:09.932
Wax on, wax off?[br][audience laughs]

0:08:10.000,0:08:10.912
Karate?

0:08:12.325,0:08:15.630
Ah, Japanese culture is rich.

0:08:16.252,0:08:21.691
And so many enjoy participating in[br]Japanese culture.

0:08:22.250,0:08:25.994
To make sure the Japanese did not[br]assimilate into this country,

0:08:26.834,0:08:28.242
laws were passed.

0:08:28.562,0:08:32.820
Asians could not own property,[br]marry whites,

0:08:33.959,0:08:36.193
become citizens of the United States.

0:08:37.809,0:08:40.139
After the attack on Pearl Harbour,

0:08:41.019,0:08:43.469
December 7th, 1941.

0:08:44.779,0:08:52.259
John L. DeWitt, commander of the western,[br]as his fourth army.

0:08:52.700,0:08:55.900
At the Presidio of San Francisco.

0:08:56.085,0:08:58.464
Had the ear of the President of[br]the United States.

0:08:59.201,0:09:02.151
He said: "A Jap's a Jap."

0:09:02.988,0:09:06.540
"It makes no difference whether that Jap[br]is a citizen or not."

0:09:09.818,0:09:13.193
J. Edgar Hoover said: "Mr. President,[br]we don't need to do this."

0:09:14.656,0:09:17.626
Francis Biddle who was the Attorney[br]General at the time said:

0:09:17.626,0:09:20.601
"Mr. President, I don't think we[br]can do this."

0:09:22.118,0:09:27.695
There were no lawsuits filed[br]on our behalf.

0:09:29.205,0:09:38.536
Executive Order 9066, was past[br]75 years ago.

0:09:39.104,0:09:44.332
You know, there was one group, nationally,[br]<i>one group</i>, that supported us.

0:09:44.332,0:09:45.768
The American Quakers.

0:09:45.768,0:09:47.451
The American friends.

0:09:48.839,0:09:50.709
They're the only ones.

0:09:50.974,0:09:54.904
Nationally, not even the ACLU (American[br]Civil Liberties Union) supported us.

0:09:58.789,0:10:01.689
Locally, luckily, we had some friends.

0:10:02.690,0:10:05.539
City attorney of Watsonville, with John[br]McCarthy.

0:10:06.278,0:10:09.241
Our police chief, Matt Graves.

0:10:09.241,0:10:11.851
School teachers, public school teachers.

0:10:11.936,0:10:13.348
And many others supported us.

0:10:13.409,0:10:16.042
You know, the reward,

0:10:16.042,0:10:19.096
they were called 'Jap Lovers'[br]for supporting us.

0:10:22.647,0:10:25.706
They had their homes and cars vandalized.

0:10:27.271,0:10:31.535
And they were among the very first to[br]welcome us back.

0:10:32.350,0:10:34.075
We had some very dear friends.

0:10:36.752,0:10:42.606
In 1942, our homes were searched,[br]without search warrants.

0:10:43.102,0:10:45.855
The FBI came into our homes

0:10:45.855,0:10:48.662
—they got the information from[br]the Bureau of the Census.

0:10:48.662,0:10:51.640
The Bureau of the Census is not supposed[br]to do that.

0:10:51.963,0:10:53.415
We were hacked.[br][laughs]

0:10:55.684,0:10:59.249
There were no trials, except for four[br]people.

0:11:00.735,0:11:03.936
But for the rest of us, we had no charges,

0:11:04.814,0:11:09.828
no attorneys, no due process of law.

0:11:15.248,0:11:19.231
[shows paper] This, the Constitution[br]of the United States,

0:11:19.231,0:11:22.214
ceased to exist for us.

0:11:28.873,0:11:33.094
From camp—there were ten major camps—

0:11:33.094,0:11:37.273
and from the camps, our men and [br]women volunteered to serve

0:11:37.273,0:11:39.663
in the United States Armed Forces.

0:11:40.693,0:11:45.927
The men—many of them were in the[br]hundred 442nd Regimental Combat Team,

0:11:45.927,0:11:50.281
the most decorated army unit for its[br]size and length of service.

0:11:53.771,0:11:58.001
My two brothers were in the MIS—[br]Military Intelligence Service—

0:11:58.001,0:12:00.491
because they could read and[br]write Japanese.

0:12:00.946,0:12:05.396
They went to Japanese school after[br]high school each day.

0:12:05.840,0:12:08.114
They fought against the Japanese.

0:12:10.204,0:12:15.118
We used the Japanese language as a weapon,[br]against the Japanese.

0:12:18.040,0:12:22.072
The MIS stayed after the war,

0:12:23.319,0:12:26.956
with the restoration,[br]occupation restoration of Japan.

0:12:28.649,0:12:35.912
Their service during the war saved[br]countless American and Japanese lives.

0:12:36.371,0:12:39.392
It is estimated that it shortened the[br]war by two years.

0:12:41.927,0:12:47.511
Congress formally acknowledged the work

0:12:49.340,0:12:55.912
of the hundred 442nd and MIS, with[br]a Congressional Gold Medal.

0:12:56.254,0:12:57.555
And we're grateful.

0:12:59.653,0:13:04.212
Our forced removal was illegal.

0:13:04.388,0:13:05.439
Right?

0:13:07.636,0:13:08.968
No.

0:13:11.526,0:13:12.688
No.

0:13:14.362,0:13:16.001
It's legal.

0:13:17.452,0:13:22.399
The government of United States can[br]evict anyone from their homes.

0:13:23.048,0:13:27.569
If, under the guise of[br]"military necessity."

0:13:29.248,0:13:31.375
Today, we won't use that term.

0:13:31.790,0:13:34.851
We'll use the term "national security."

0:13:37.167,0:13:44.849
Congress and the president apologized[br]for our wartime experience.

0:13:45.701,0:13:52.453
Civil Liberties Act was passed on[br]August 10th, 1988.

0:13:53.354,0:13:55.371
We have an official apology.

0:13:55.660,0:13:58.357
You know, of the 120,000[br][laughs]

0:13:59.752,0:14:05.551
the government expected 60,000 to have[br]died, and 60,000 were still alive.

0:14:07.036,0:14:08.456
But we fooled them.

0:14:08.723,0:14:11.194
80,000 of us were still alive.

0:14:11.674,0:14:16.524
You see, sushi is good for you.[br][laughter]

0:14:17.522,0:14:19.159
There's only one race,

0:14:19.703,0:14:22.234
that's the human race.

0:14:25.092,0:14:27.893
There are those who wish to classify us.

0:14:28.459,0:14:31.048
Oh, you're Caucasian American,

0:14:31.357,0:14:32.709
you're Asian American,

0:14:32.924,0:14:34.344
you're Hispanic American,

0:14:37.098,0:14:38.609
Black American.

0:14:39.915,0:14:41.948
There's only one race.

0:14:43.065,0:14:47.739
You know dogs, we call them German[br]Shepards, French Poodles,

0:14:47.739,0:14:48.825
and Chihuahuas.

0:14:48.825,0:14:51.625
They go to anybody, huh.[br]Right?

0:14:52.355,0:14:53.691
They're colorblind.

0:14:55.092,0:14:58.200
I wish humans were colorblind.

0:15:00.055,0:15:01.155
[sighs]

0:15:01.854,0:15:04.082
Today, the present administration

0:15:05.539,0:15:11.421
is constantly issuing new executive[br]orders, policies regarding immigration.

0:15:12.281,0:15:14.851
Contrary to the spirit of America.

0:15:16.013,0:15:23.528
Fortunately—now—we have the Southern[br]Poverty Law Center,

0:15:24.321,0:15:26.283
the American Civil Liberties Union.

0:15:27.065,0:15:31.209
We have so many groups and individuals

0:15:31.574,0:15:36.566
supporting what really is of[br]true America.

0:15:36.866,0:15:40.374
Something we didn't see in 1942.

0:15:41.772,0:15:43.970
Will it happen again?

0:15:46.119,0:15:47.930
Memory is short.

0:15:50.889,0:15:54.325
No.[br]Not under the guise of military necessity.

0:15:54.560,0:15:56.104
So who's the biggest threat?

0:15:59.779,0:16:06.433
Some suspect it will be the reporters and[br]producers of fake news.

0:16:06.433,0:16:07.452
[laughs]

0:16:07.902,0:16:10.063
It doesn't have to be an individual[br]or group.

0:16:10.540,0:16:12.686
A national group, a racial group.

0:16:14.786,0:16:17.189
It could be an occupation.

0:16:18.532,0:16:22.828
The days of Walter Cronkite, the conscious[br]of America, are long gone.

0:16:24.282,0:16:31.112
Now we have the internet, radio talk[br]show hosts, TV commentators.

0:16:32.420,0:16:36.898
I'm grateful to be living here in[br]Santa Cruz county.

0:16:38.185,0:16:40.797
The second most liberal county in[br]the nation.

0:16:43.031,0:16:48.395
You know, if you know the history of Santa[br]Cruz city, it wasn't always that way.

0:16:49.102,0:16:52.138
Yeah, minorities were not welcomed in[br]Santa Cruz.

0:16:53.586,0:16:56.937
Growing up, I didn't come to[br]Santa Cruz very often.

0:16:59.525,0:17:01.686
But that all changed.

0:17:02.107,0:17:03.306
How?

0:17:03.832,0:17:06.059
Thanks to Cabrillo College.

0:17:06.662,0:17:12.786
And the University of Santa Cruz—[br]University of California, at Santa Cruz.

0:17:12.786,0:17:14.820
The intelligentsia came.

0:17:15.725,0:17:17.810
And it changed the whole county.

0:17:17.810,0:17:22.403
Today, this is the most wonderful place[br]in the whole world to live.

0:17:22.667,0:17:24.161
And I kid you not.

0:17:25.863,0:17:27.660
Gordon Hirabayashi.

0:17:28.886,0:17:31.352
He was a student at the[br]University of Washington.

0:17:31.538,0:17:32.585
A Quaker.

0:17:32.960,0:17:37.921
He was arrested, convicted, imprisoned.

0:17:39.306,0:17:45.847
The prosecuting attorneys lied[br]to the judges.

0:17:48.774,0:17:50.515
Yeah, he spent some time.

0:17:50.515,0:17:52.812
Now, his conviction was vacated.

0:17:53.152,0:17:54.858
Not overturned, vacated.

0:17:56.487,0:18:02.019
Gordon Hirabayashi said:[br]"Ancestry is not a crime."

0:18:03.795,0:18:09.054
Today we would add:[br]"Islam is not a crime."

0:18:12.095,0:18:17.700
With our newfound energy, we have[br]a lot of work to do.

0:18:18.098,0:18:23.665
You know those, gentlemen who live not[br]too far from Charlottesville, Virginia,

0:18:23.665,0:18:25.722
at a place called Monticello.

0:18:26.929,0:18:28.178
Thomas Jefferson,

0:18:29.276,0:18:32.278
"Eternal vigilance is a price of liberty."

0:18:33.381,0:18:40.548
It's up to us, all of us, to work in[br]peace, and harmony, compassion,

0:18:41.005,0:18:43.798
to overcome hate and bigotry.

0:18:43.798,0:18:45.310
And we can do it.

0:18:46.415,0:18:48.483
Thank you.

0:18:48.483,0:18:53.094
[audience applause]