Born in Seattle: The Campaign for Japanese American Redress

by Robert Sadamu Shimabukuro

Overview

The story of the World War II internment of 120,000 Japanese American citizens and Japanese-born permanent residents is well known by now. Less well known is the history of the small group of Seattle activists who gave birth to the national movement for redress. It was they who first conceived of petitioning the U.S. Congress to demand a public apology and monetary compensation for the individuals and the community whose constitutional rights had been violated.

Robert Sadamu Shimabukuro, using hundreds of interviews with people who lived in the internment camps, and with people who initiated the campaign for redress, has constructed a very personal testimony, a monument to these courageous organizers’ determination and deep reverence for justice. Born in Seattle follows these pioneers and their movement over more than two decades, starting in the late 1960s with second-generation Japanese American engineers at the Boeing Company, as they worked with their fellow activists to educate Japanese American communities, legislative bodies, and the broader American public about the need for the U.S. Government to acknowledge and pay for this wartime injustice and to promise that it will never be repeated.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780295981420
Publisher:	University of Washington Press
Publication date:	07/01/2001
Series:	Scott and Laurie Oki Series in Asian American Studies Series
Pages:	178
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.41(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

Table of Contents

Foreword by Chizu Omorii

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. Awakening

2. Roadblocks

3. Remembrance

4. Circumvention

5. Testimony

6. Gestures

7. Determination

8. Arrival

Appendix 1 An Appeal for Action

Appendix 2 An Open Letter to Senator Hayakawa

Appendix 3 An American Promise

Notes

Sources

Index

What People are Saying About This

Arthur A. Hansen

A clearly argued, well organized, lucidly communicated, and authoritative exploration of a key chapter in the historically important and consequential redress movement.

Chizu Omori

"Redress is a triumph for all Americans, giving us the heart to pursue other ideals."

From the Publisher

"Redress is a triumph for all Americans, giving us the heart to pursue other ideals."—Chizu Omori, from the Foreword

"Born in Seattle is a passionate telling of the Seattle story of Japanese American redress from the late 1960s to 1990. The story is rich and the voices compelling."—Gail M. Nomura, University of Washington

"A clearly argued, well organized, lucidly communicated, and authoritative exploration of a key chapter in the historically important and consequential redress movement."—Arthur A. Hansen, California State University, Fullerton

Gail M. Nomura

Born in Seattle is a passionate telling of the Seattle story of Japanese American redress from the late 1960s to 1990. The story is rich and the voices compelling.

Editorial Reviews

"Shimabukuro presents a unique perspective on the beginnings of redress. Seattle Nisei engineers at Boeing, convinced that the expulsion and incarceration of Japanese Americans resulted in mistreatment by Boeing managers, decided to campaign for redress. . . . Shimabukuro’s account is convincing, interesting, and documented, making it a book which should interest scholars, laymen, and those who are just looking for a good story to read."

Pacific Citizen

Born in Seattle describes the ground-breaking efforts of Seattle-area activists to win redress for the injustice a generation later. . . . Shimabukuro tells the fascinating and historically overlooked story of how the Seattle activists conceived the first concrete plan for redress, and how they succeeded in spite of tepid support from national leaders of the Japanese American Citizens League.

-- "The Seattle Times"

An intimate portrait of the movement--the players and issues involved, the political landscape, and shifting alliances. . . . The Seattle Plan was the first concrete redress proposal and incorporated one key element of the redress legislation that finally passed in 1988--payments to individuals, rather than block grants to community agencies. Seattleites can be justifiably proud of the central role they played in the larger movement.

-- "Journal of Asian American Studies"

Shimabukuro presents a unique perspective on the beginnings of redress. Seattle Nisei engineers at Boeing, convinced that the expulsion and incarceration of Japanese Americans resulted in mistreatment by Boeing managers, decided to campaign for redress. . . . Shimabukuro's account is convincing, interesting, and documented, making it a book which should interest scholars, laymen, and those who are just looking for a good story to read.

-- "Pacific Citizen"

This slim volume emphasizes the significance of the Seattle Japanese American struggle for redress that ultimately succeeded as it gained statewide and national support.

-- "Choice"

From the Publisher

An intimate portrait of the movement—the players and issues involved, the political landscape, and shifting alliances.... The Seattle Plan was the first concrete redress proposal and incorporated one key element of the redress legislation that finally passed in 1988—payments to individuals, rather than block grants to community agencies. Seattleites can be justifiably proud of the central role they played in the larger movement.

Journal of Asian American Studies

This slim volume emphasizes the significance of the Seattle Japanese American struggle for redress that ultimately succeeded as it gained statewide and national support.

Choice

Born in Seattle describes the ground-breaking efforts of Seattle-area activists to win redress for the injustice a generation later.... Shimabukuro tells the fascinating and historically overlooked story of how the Seattle activists conceived the first concrete plan for redress, and how they succeeded in spite of tepid support from national leaders of the Japanese American Citizens League.

The Seattle Times

The WWII internment of 120,000 Japanese-Americans by FDR's Executive Order 9066 is a painful, still-obscured moment in U.S. history. In Born in Seattle: The Campaign for Japanese American Redress, Robert Sadamu Shimabukuro recounts the 20-year battle undertaken by Seattle activists seeking official apology and financial compensation for the imprisoned citizens and permanent residents. Shimabukuro interweaves testimonies from the activists and inhabitants of the camps, accounts of other wartime phenomena (government seizure of homes and businesses, loyalty questionnaires) and descriptions of activism and consciousness-raising (the Day of Remembrance, "I survived E.O. 9066" T-shirts and Seattle's 1992 exhibit Executive Order 9066: 50 Years Before and 50 Years After). Since September 11, former Secretary of State Warren Christopher and other public figures have cited the internment camps to warn against hostility towards Muslim-Americans; this book offers a clear-sighted cautionary tale about the possible outcomes of xenophobia and fear. (Dec.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

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