NCRR Book Talk Nov. 17
NCRR: The Grassroots Struggle for
Japanese American Redress and Reparations
Sunday, Nov. 17 Lunch and Community Book Talk, BTSD Annex Hall
11:30 a.m. - Optional Benefit Teriyaki Lunch, $10
12:30 p.m. - Community Book Talk, Free and Open to All
Pick Up Lunch Tickets Now!
About the Book Talk
We hope you will join us on Sunday, Nov. 17, at the Buddhist Temple of San Diego, 2929 Market St., San Diego at 12:30 p.m. This event is co-sponsored by the the Buddhist Temple of San Diego (BTSD), the Japanese American Historical Society of San Diego (JAHSSD), and the Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress (NCRR). The Book Talk portion is expected to run from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m.
A National Issue. During World War II, some 120,000 individuals of Japanese ancestry, citizens and legal immigrants alike, were ordered from their homes and sent to distant camps. Some 2000 came from San Diego. Many Japanese Americans understand how this injustice affected their families. “Mom and Dad spent three years in Poston, Arizona, along with most of San Diego’s Japanese Americans based solely on their race,” San Diego native and NCRR member Kay Ochi recalls. “By the 1980s, Sansei, armed with the lessons of the civil rights movement and Asian American Studies programs, became the cheerleaders to Issei and Nisei who were reluctant to talk about their wartime travails. Together we worked wholeheartedly on the campaign to fight for their justice and to right that historic wrong.” The grassroots coalition managed to make redress and reparations happen in 1990, almost 30 years ago, in concert with other redress organizations.
A Local Story. San Diegans played a significant role in the redress effort. Kay Ochi, who was living in Los Angeles during the heavy lifting of the redress effort (and now returned to San Diego), wrote about her role for the Fall issue of Footprints, the newsletter of the Japanese American Historical Society of San Diego. Others involved were then-San Diegans Jan Tokumaru and Glenn Horiuchi, who worked with San Diego community members on the redress campaign. Jan fondly remembers working with Harry Kawamoto and my Kay’s uncle Hideo Ochi. Jan will share other recollections at this book talk.
About the Lunch
While it is not necessary to purhase a lunch ticket to attend the Book Talk, we hope you can join us. The Teriyaki Chicken Benefit lunch starts at 11:30 a.m. and tickets are $10. We ask you to either prepurchase tickets if you are at the Temple beforehand or to call the Temple and reserve your tickets, at 619-239-0896. The luncheon and the Book Talk both take place in the Temple’s Annex Hall.
About the Sponsoring Organizations
The Buddhist Temple of San Diego is grateful to join cosponsoring organizations the Japanese American Historical Society of San Diego and the Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress.
JAHSSD. The basic idea for the historical society was raised in 1991 when organizers of a Poston Camp reunion in San Diego realized the need to document the recent history of the Japanese American community before it disappeared. Such discussions led to the formal creation of the JAHSSD as a nonprofit corporation in 1992.
NCRR. This institution grew out of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Coalition for Redress/Reparations, itself formed in 1980, and since 2000 the NCRR has operated under its current name. The NCRR continues to be committed to Civil Rights and the continued work to fight for proper redress for Japanese Americans and Japanese Latin Americans.
About Kay Ochi
Kay Ochi is a triple member of all three sponsoring organizations and in the Fall 2019 issue of the JAHSSD Footprints (Vol. 27, No. 3) wrote eloquently about the NCRR and her experiences in the redress effort. Born and raised in San Diego, she spent much of her professional career as an educator in the Los Angeles area, and once again makes her home in San Diego. Portions of this article are based on her writings in Footprints, and we are hopeful that the JAHSSD has not yet completely sold out and may have copies of the Fall 2019 issue available at the Book Talk.