<Begin Segment 6>

SH: We, so we found a lot of people and we helped them develop their testimony just by talking to them about it. 'Cause I think a lot of times people didn't know what was important to say and so we'd encourage them, "No, your story is important, and just tell it the way you told us." And we'd help people type things up, and we'd help them edit it, and we'd help them practice, we'd... and we worked out a lot of rides to the commission hearings, and I remember when we went... like for me, that was the, at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. I'd never been with so many Japanese Americans before in my life, I didn't know there were that many on the planet. But yeah, there was a large number and that in itself was really exciting.

But what was really exciting was that, not only was there a large number of people, but they were all there on this mission that was so heartfelt. I mean, everybody's heart was on their sleeve, it was very emotional. I mean, people were just sobbing all day and cheering. It was so amazing. Like people were sobbing and cheering simultaneously and just that feeling of solidarity and pride, you know, you just felt so... there's somebody who was testifying, you didn't even know them, but you felt so proud of them. And especially like, knowing that a lot of these people were afraid, and so that was, that was really exciting.

I think the whole... the "quiet American" died that day. And I think that that was so thrilling, I think. Especially to a Sansei like me who had really struggled with a lot of racism and for whom the "quiet American" was no answer to that racism, you know what I'm saying? It's like, so the death of that "quiet American" was, it was just thrilling. It was like finally, finally getting back up on your feet and hitting back, and in a principled way, too. And it was very, I think people were also very proud that it was... also, very lofty sentiments were expressed. I think one of the things that people said over and over, and it was unprompted, we didn't try to tell people to say stuff like this but... like when we met people in their houses and stuff, one of the things that people said over and over again was that, "I don't care about myself, but I don't want this to happen to anybody else." And I think that was very sincere, and I think... and I'm so proud of Japanese Americans for, I don't know, having that compassion and ability to see beyond their own situation, you know what I mean?

So that was thrilling, and I remember a bunch of us coming back and I think we were driving back in a van or something. And, you know, that whole day had been very noisy, I mean, just cheering and yelling and running around, and the newspeople, and just a lot of noise, right? And we got in the van and we're driving back and it was just silent because we were just so drained, we were just so exhausted. But it was, we were so happy. It was really incredible. And people say, "Oh, the Japanese American's community was galvanized," and I keep thinking, "What is 'galvanized?' Does that mean covered with steel?" [Laughs] I don't know exactly what that means, but I think it's, really people were just energized from that. And so yeah, just personally... I'm so glad, I'm so glad that I took the day off work and I went to that. It changed my life. And... yeah. [Laughs]

<End Segment 6> - Copyright © 1997 Densho. All Rights Reserved.