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Interviews

Kinoshita,Cherry

(1923–2008) One of the leaders behind the redress movement.

Erasing the Bitterness

But as to whether it accomplished what we were looking for, I think it did in the sense -- as we said in talking about this -- how it brought out the feelings. How it finally...people were able to, I think, put closure to the whole thing. I mean, it keeps going on. I mean, like these things, it keeps coming up, but I think it puts closure to the emotional part of any bitterness that at least the government apologized. At least there was admission by vast numbers of people that it was wrong. That you know, there wasn't disloyalty. I mean, being incarcerated, the implication that there was something that we had to be incarcerated for. You wiped that out.

And so I think, I think that yes, it did. There might be, there might have been some other things that could have been better maybe. But I think essentially our goals will be met and this is ongoing, too. I mean, we're still talking about it so you know, there is no point at which we say until we're gone I guess.

And maybe it'll take historians many more years to... that's, that's a question I have: will this be forgotten, or will this remain in history? Will it be said that in 1942 there were 120,000 people sent to concentration camps? But along with it, will it be said that through the efforts of this small minority, the government did apologize. I think that's an important part of history.


imprisonment incarceration Redress movement

Date: September 26, 1997

Location: Washington, US

Interviewer: Becky Fukuda, Tracy Lai

Contributed by: Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.

Interviewee Bio

Cherry Kinoshita was born in 1923 in Seattle, WA. As a teen she was incarcerated at Puyallup Assembly Center in Washington and later Minidoka in Idaho. During her two and a half years behind barbed wire, she wrote for the camp newspaper, The Minidoka Irrigator.

In the ’70s she became active in the Seattle JACL movement for redress. One of Kinoshita’s many contributions was a grassroots lobbying effort to inform Washington State lawmakers on the injustice suffered by Japanese Americans during World War II. In dealing with politicians, Kinoshita’s secret weapons were persistence and patience. Notably, a congressman from the State of Washington introduced the first redress bill in 1979.

Kinoshita also organized a coalition of 16 major Japanese American organizations as redress supporters. At 60, in the midst of campaigning for redress, Kinoshita earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in sociology from the University of Washington. (April 15, 2008)

Clifford Uyeda
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Uyeda,Clifford

Legacy of redress

(1917 - 2004) Political activist

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Frank Emi
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Emi,Frank

Loyalty questionnaire

(1916-2010) draft resister, helped form the Heart Mountain Fair Play Committee

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Frank Emi
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Emi,Frank

Speaking out in camp

(1916-2010) draft resister, helped form the Heart Mountain Fair Play Committee

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Young O. Kim
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Kim,Young O.

Resisting transfer from Jerome

(1919 - 2006) World War II and Korean War veteran

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Frank Emi
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Emi,Frank

Would do the same again

(1916-2010) draft resister, helped form the Heart Mountain Fair Play Committee

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Frank Emi
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Emi,Frank

“No more shikataganai

(1916-2010) draft resister, helped form the Heart Mountain Fair Play Committee

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Young O. Kim
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Kim,Young O.

A visit to Jerome after OCS

(1919 - 2006) World War II and Korean War veteran

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Sakaye Shigekawa
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Shigekawa, Sakaye

Traumatic experiences before camp

(1913-2013) Doctor specializing in obstetrics in Southern California

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Sakaye Shigekawa
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Shigekawa, Sakaye

“Everybody went in like sheep”

(1913-2013) Doctor specializing in obstetrics in Southern California

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William Hohri
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Hohri,William

Going to camp with the Terminal Island people

(1927-2010) Political Activist

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William Hohri
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Hohri,William

The lawsuit set the standard for restoring people’s rights

(1927-2010) Political Activist

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William Hohri
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Hohri,William

Outhouses and showers at camp

(1927-2010) Political Activist

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William Hohri
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Hohri,William

Interned at age fifteen, I saw camp as an adventure

(1927-2010) Political Activist

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Norman Yoshio Mineta
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Mineta,Norman Yoshio

Beginnings of CWRIC

(b. 1931) U.S. Former Secretary of Transportation

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Norman Yoshio Mineta
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Mineta,Norman Yoshio

Bill 442

(b. 1931) U.S. Former Secretary of Transportation

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